


Rick and Morty Get Real

by JenKristo



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: C137cest, M/M, Morty is 18, rickmorty, rorty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-01 12:10:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10189628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenKristo/pseuds/JenKristo
Summary: Right before leaving for college, Morty confesses that he's attracted to Rick, and Rick turns him down flat. Only, Rick can't stop thinking about it. They both look for answers through interdimensional travel, alcohol and experimentation. Plus, with Morty returning home for Thanksgiving break, they're going to have to face each other.





	1. Chapter 1

Morty looked around the therapist’s office. There were plants hanging from the ceiling and a little trickling fountain that sounded like someone taking a leak. The therapist, a balding man in his forties, crossed his legs and set his clipboard on his lap.

“So Morty, what brings you in today?”

Morty felt a pit grow in his stomach. He rubbed his sweating palms on his jeans. “I-I heard that the college offered free therapy for students.”

“Yes we do. And here you are.” The therapist smiled, but Morty did not. After a pause, the therapist tried to get him talking. “How are you doing in your classes?”

“I’m good, I-I’m fine. The classes are fine. I like Psych. It’s fine.”

The therapist tilted his head. “Are you making friends?”

“Sure, I guess I know a few people…”

The therapist wrote something down on the clipboard. “What about outside of school?”

Morty hesitated. He looked at the floor, at the tightly woven, industrial carpeting. It was really clean. Like, nobody-is-allowed-to-eat-in-here-EVER clean. “It’s okay.”

“And?”

“And… agh this is such bullshit!” He looked at the therapist. “Look, I’m here because of something that happened before I left… before I went away to school. I like somebody, right? I’m kind of mad obsessed and I’m reeeeally not supposed to be. Well it’s been going on for years aaand I-I knew I wasn’t going to see them for a while when I went away to college. So on the last day I just kind of blurted it out.”

“You told this person you had feelings for them?”

Morty nodded gravely. 

“And what happened?”

“Well… he was surprised. Like, we were flying the ship… I mean we were driving the car and he kind of swerved right into something. And then he stared at me like he thought I might have been taken over by some kind of alien entity, and I told him I was serious and he told me… um...”

“What did he tell you?”

Morty slumped over a little. “He told me I should get professional help. But he doesn’t really believe in therapy, he was just being an asshole.”

“I’m so sorry,” the therapist said gently. 

_ Morty remembered sitting beside Rick in the ship, which was nestled into the rubble of a building he had crashed into. And the staring. Rick hadn’t exactly looked at Morty like he was disgusting, but more like Morty was something Rick might need to reprogram. Morty wasn’t sure of the last time he had seen Rick surprised about anything. _

_ “I’ve just… I-I’ve felt this way for a while now. I didn’t- I couldn’t say anything because I was afraid you might…” His eyes started to water, and he blinked it back. “I know you have that ticket for a replacement Morty. I thought if I told you, you might swap me out. For a Morty who isn’t fucked up like I am. I don’t want to be swapped out, but I just couldn’t keep it in anymore. It’s-” _

_ Rick smacked Morty to get him to come to his senses, the way someone smacks a person to wake them up. “Quit sniveling, Morty. What are you, seventeen?” _

_ “Eighteen.” _

_ Rick was twisted in his seat, looking at Morty straight on. His expression said, ‘What the fuck do I do with this, Morty?’ And then he said, “What the fuck do I do with this, Morty? What do you expect me to say?” _

_ Morty shrugged. “I don’t know… that you’ll fix me? That you forgive me?” _

_ “You clearly need some professional hel-URP-help. This is some seriously fucked up shit, Morty.” _

_ “I know…”  _

_ Ricked backed the ship out of the rubble of the building and lifted it once more into the atmosphere. “You know what, Morty? I-I think I may have been wrong about you going away to school. Maybe it’ll-URP be good for you. Maybe spending some time fucking people your own age will get your head out of your ass about the two of us. Now that I think of it, I don’t give you much time to do your own thing- to get your rocks off like the other kids do.” _

“Morty?” The therapist said, snapping him back to reality.

“What? Sorry.” He couldn’t forget the lingering reminder that Rick had never said whether or not he’d replace him. 

Xxx

Morty typed away on his laptop, trying to get a headstart on the Psych 101 essay that was due at the end of the week. The dorm room was dimly lit by the lamp on his desk, and all was quiet save for the sound of his keyboard and the creaking of his roommate’s bed. Morty’s typing halted as he heard his roommate chuckle and the girlfriend moan. 

“Like that, baby?” 

Morty continued typing up his mental health essay, but it was getting harder to focus when things were perking up in his pajama pants. His roommate had been a smoker since he was twelve, and the gravelly voice defied his young age and appearance. He listened to his roommate dirty talking and thought about how he could probably write a novel on his own mental health, or lack thereof. 

He shifted in his desk chair, trying to get more comfortable. He was going to have to get off whenever this voyeuristic freak show was over, if he ever managed to get a moment to himself in this place. God, if only he could get his roommate to say something science-y. It’d be so fucking good to get off thinking about that.

A message popped on his screen, saying, ‘Want to go on an adventure?’

The ‘A’ word had Morty alight, but he was immediately let down when he saw that the message was from a friend from an RPG. It was stupid to get excited anyway, since his grandfather never sent him messages online. Rick was more of an, unexpectedly-swing-the-door-open-without-invitation-and-let’s-get-outta-here kind of guy. He typed a reply that he’d have to pass this time, and continued to work. Christ, how had he let his life get so mundane? He knew how. 

“Yeah baby,” his roommate growled. “Does that feel good? You want it? Tell me you want it…” 

Morty tensed. He palmed his erection, unable to block out the voice that wasn’t quite right but oh so close. 

And then, in an unexpectedly-swing-the-door-open-without-invitation-and-let’s-get-outta-here kind of way, a green light exploded out of nowhere. Morty’s roommate and his girlfriend screamed and shouted obscenities, while Morty just just turned to look. 

Rick stepped out of the portal, interdimensional device in hand. He straightened his lab coat and used his sleeve to wipe the spittle off his mouth. He looked at Morty like it was just another day in the verse. Morty stood slowly. 

“We’ve gotta go, Morty. I only have two more hours to make this delivery and I’m gonna need an extra set of hands.”

Morty did his best to pull his long T-shirt over the front of his pants, and hoped that the loose fabric was concealing him. Rick didn’t seem to notice as he came over. And fuck, he was glorious. Nothing was different, the same apathetic resting face and hair stuck up every which way. Same smell of alcohol on his breath.

“Get your shoes on, Morty.”

“My shoes… My S-SHOES? My fucking shoes, are you kidding me?!” Morty howled. “It’s been almost… almost two months since I’ve heard from you, and you just expect me to up and follow you off to who knows where?”

Rick checked his watch. “I've got thirty three more min-URP-minutes to pick up the merch. Are you coming or not?”

“Morty, who the fuck is this?” Morty’s roommate shouted from where he and his girlfriend cowered on the bed. “Did he just jump out of a portal?”

“He’s my grandfather and a-a fucking asshole. ...and yeah-Ugh!” Rick grabbed Morty’s wrist, dragging him toward the ship. 

Morty was just about Rick’s height now, and he probably could have put up a fight if he wanted. But he just let Rick pull him along. The man was impossible to resist, and that was something that would never change.

Xxx

Morty sat in the passenger seat of the ship, which hadn’t changed much over the years. If anything, it had a few more patches holding it together than it had before. He crossed his arms, glaring at his own reflection in the window.

“I’ve got a guy in C-009 who’s willing to pay a fortune for me to deliver a package from C-112. Plus he’s throwing in something I’ve been looking for forever. We’re-URP-we’re gonna be flying to C-112 to pick it up. We just have to keep under the radar in 112. T-There are some officials, Morty, and they don’t want to do the trade. It’s a risk we’re gonna have to take.”

Morty uncrossed his arms. “Jeez, Rick, you don’t think we should… I-I don’t know, talk? You really have nothing to say to me?”

“Actually that reminds me, Morty. I was thinking we should never bring that up again.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah I am, Morty. You’re going through a-a-a-a-a-a  _ phase _ of some sort.  _ BRRRP- _ I think you’ll get over it eventually.”

“You didn’t look into it? You didn’t do some experiment on me from afar or-or see if I’m infected with something?”

“Yeah I checked that, Morty, you’re not infected. Unfortunately.”

“What about the other dimensions? Did you see if… if there are any other Morty’s like me?”

“H-H-H-Honestly Morty, it wasn’t worth the trouble and I didn’t want to know. You-you-you’re just gonna have to get over this on your own.”

Morty looked out the window. They were flying through a deep field of asteroids surrounding the desired planet. After the Asteroids came an incredibly turbulent atmosphere, and the ship jerked and bumped all the way through its steady descension. 

“This is taking forever.”

“Yeah well the planet’s atmosphere is about six times as deep as Earth’s. I’d put your feet up if I were you.” 

But it was impossible, as the ship shook and bounced. Morty grabbed onto the sides of his seat to keep himself from being thrown forward. “You know I would have liked to put on some real clothes before we left. And some shoes.” His toes curled up to avoid the grime on the floor.

“No time, Morty. We’re-BRRRRRURP on a schedule.”

Morty gripped his seat tighter, using one hand to press against the window to keep him from hitting his head. Would the ship even hold up with this shaking? It sounded like it was coming apart. Maybe it always sounded that way. Morty wasn’t sure.

His focus was pulled to the shore of a dark beach, where a massive crowd was running toward them from inland. In front of them drove a single alien-looking vehicle.

“Uh, Rick, maybe you should see this.”

“Yeah I see it, Morty. That’s our liaison.”

The ship landed on the shore, and Morty jumped out, bare feet sinking into the chrome sand. The dunes rose up, blocking the ship from distant gunfire. 

“Come on Morty, we’ve got to meet them before their military does. Run for it! Oh shit, wait. Take this shrink ray. It’s the only way we’re going to fit the package into the ship.”

Morty took the shrink ray and ran. He hurled himself over the dunes, making a beeline for the vehicle in the distance. He could hear the gunfire, and hopped a few times as blasts hit the ground around his feet. The vehicle came closer, and slid to a stop in front of him. A pair of triclopses hurried out and opened the back, which held a box large enough to hold a bathtub. Morty aimed the ray gun and fired, shrinking the crate to the size of a tissue box. 

One of the two aliens started shouting garbled alien-speak to him, but he got the hint from the desperate waving of their hands. He turned tail and ran, just as the military landed a blow that sent the vehicle exploding into the air. Another explosion blew up against the ground to his left, and he stumbled as he tried to avoid it. Why the hell did he let Rick get him into this shit? Maybe he wanted Rick to think he was more interesting than he actually was. Or maybe he just liked it. 

Ahead of him, Rick’s flying saucer ship rose up from behind the dunes. It headed toward him and Morty ran faster. He was so close. But then something sharp punctured his bare foot, and he gasped from the pain as he stumbled to the ground. The box tumbled from his grip, and the ray gun broke apart under Morty’s chest. The crate trembled and blew up into its original size, just as the saucer landed.

“Shit, Morty, w-w-w-what did you do to my shrink ray?”

“I… I…”

“N-Nevermind, no time.”

Morty glanced behind them toward the mainland, where the mob of military soldiers was getting closer by the second. He scrambled to his feet and joined Rick where he was trying to shove the massive box through the passenger door. Together they managed to slide it in, the back half wedged behind the driver’s seat. Rick shoved the door shut and ran to the other side. He jumped in just as a shower of blasts began to crash against the ship. Morty ducked his head as he hurried after him, leaping on top of Rick in the driver’s seat. 

Rick took off, ascending quickly and leaving the soldiers on the beach. 

“Jeez Rick, that was seriously close!”

“Yeah well I told you to get your sh-URP-shoes on.”

The ship lurched forward in the atmosphere’s turbulence, sending Morty into the windshield. He smacked his head on the glass before Rick pulled him back again. 

“Hold onto something, Morty.”

Morty was sprawled out on Rick’s lap at this point, hand holding the sore spot on his forehead where he’d hit the glass. Even through the pain in his head and his foot, he didn’t fail to notice their situation. There was no space to spare, and Morty had no choice but to sit pressed up against Rick’s chest. The older man’s arms reached forward on either side of him to steer. He leaned to the side to help Rick get a visual, but there was nothing but clouds all around them. The ship bounced and shook mercilessly, and Morty did all he could to find something to hold onto. He grabbed the side of the door, and with an especially vicious jolt of the ship, he had to grab onto Rick’s thigh to keep still. 

That’s when Morty felt it. He was sitting in Rick’s lap, unsteadily bouncing around, and there was definitely something beginning to press against his ass. Was that… no. No, yeah, it was. Rick was getting hard and Morty could feel it through his pajamas. Heat spread across his face. He couldn’t move away. He tried to scoot forward a little, to give Rick room, but the jostling of the ship just threw Morty back against him again. Rick grunted. 

“Sit still for fuck’s sake,” Rick said through gritted teeth. His arms were busy as he held tight to the trembling wheel. 

“I’m trying,” Morty bit out, but his mind was sort of not quite with it as he tried to wrap his head around this. The ship jerked forward and Morty was again thrown back against Rick. Jesus, Rick was absolutely rigid down there. Morty grabbed Rick’s knees in a desperate attempt to stay still, and they sat there frozen as the ship made it into space. The starry blackness provided endless relief in how still it was. The shaking was gone, and neither of them moved.

The silence was broken by a boozy-smelling burp from behind Morty. Morty glanced back at Rick, who glared, his face white. “Don’t get any funny ideas. You try keeping it down under that kind of duress. Let’s just forget this shit like we’re going to forget the rest of it.”

“W-Whatever Rick,” Morty mumbled. He was still sitting on Rick’s hard dick, being told not to think about it. He didn’t think there were enough hours in the day to masturbate to the memory of this. And fuck if therapy was going to help him now. He was so done.

Eventually they reached their destination, a planet of deserts and the dusty remains of crops and forests burned to the ground. Rick’s contact met them at the top of a hill overlooking a deep valley. The alien helped them drag the crate out of the ship, and they watched as he used a sort-of-crowbar to open it.

In front of them sat what Morty imagined was some kind of massive Jell-o jiggler. It shimmered blue and purple, and swayed when Rick nudged it with his foot. The contact paid Rick and slipped him a package. He and Rick stepped back as the alien took out a knife and cut open the side of the mass of Jell-o. It trembled and seemed to groan before bursting out water like a broken fire hydrant. 

It was sort of beautiful, seeing the endless, clear waterfall erupting out of the Jell-o. It began forming a stream and then a river, like a flash flood down the mountain. Looking around a second time, Morty realized that the whole valley was probably once a lake. And somehow, this lump was going to make it vital again.

“See Morty? Your grandpa does something good once in awhile. They’ll be able to water their crops and avoid mass starvation for years.”

Morty glanced at the alien contact. “What was in that package?”

The alien smiled innocently. “It is… eh, how do you say… highly condensed cocaine?”

Morty didn’t react. He turned and watched the waterfall, trying to will his blood pressure to go down. Rick began to whistle and Morty went back to the ship. 

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

College life went back to blissful normalcy for about a week. Morty went to the on-campus nurse for the wound on his foot, and received a splash of antiseptic and a bandaid. It still hurt like a motherfucker, and Morty found it hard to put pressure on it. Other than that, he went about his business, limping his way to class and getting his work done. Everything was normal. Normal, normal, normal.

And then Thanksgiving break began, and Morty made the trek home. It was chilly out, a bite in the air that had Morty pulling his coat collar closed. From his car he limped down the front walk, which was lined with small pumpkins and gourds. All were more likely from his dad than his mom. Morty found the door locked when he tried the knob, but it only took a second for someone to open it. It was Summer, who was also home for break. They both grinned at each other. There was nothing like absence to make you like someone more than you usually did. 

“How’s my little college bro? Liking your first semester?”

“Y-Yeah it’s great,” Morty said as he went inside and took off his coat. The smell of turkey with rosemary drifted through the air, and Morty inhaled. “Smells good.”

“Is that Morty?” he heard his mom call from the kitchen.

“It’s me,” Morty called back. They met at the kitchen entrance and his mother wrapped him in a hug. 

“Oh Morty, we’ve missed you. You look taller! Are you taller? You must be Rick’s height now.”

Morty shrugged, pleased and embarrassed. “N-Not quite.” It seemed that being away had made his mom a bit warmer too. “Where’s Dad... and Rick?”

“Jerry forgot the cranberry sauce so I sent him to the store. As for your grandfather, I have no idea. I made him promise to be here…” They looked at one another, a silent exchange that no one could ever rely on a promise from Rick. 

There was no doubt in Morty’s mind that his parents had noticed. Something wasn’t right between he and Rick. It had been clear since he’d left for college. No surprise visits, no being swept off on an adventure, not including the recent jell-o-cocaine-beyond-awkward-bumpy-ride experience. No, aside from that, there had been nothing. No trouble getting his work done, and no falling behind. Not even a phone call.

“How’s um… h-how’s Rick been doing?”

Beth lifted a shoulder, a sympathetic look crossing her face. “I don’t know, sweetie. He’s hardly ever home.”

After that, Morty helped his mom in the kitchen and waited for his dad to return. The evening grew closer and the four of them set the table and sat down to eat. There was a hesitation as they wondered if they should wait any longer for Rick. 

Jerry was the first to pick up his fork. “Well, Happy Thanksgiving!”

Morty had just started cutting his turkey when a green flash caught his eye through the window. A moment later Rick came through the door and the family turned to look at him. The front of him was covered in dark soot, his clothes bearing tears and scorch marks. Rick’s face was dark save for the clean goggle line around his eyes. Rather than passing by to clean up, he pulled out his chair and joined them as-is.

“Glad to have you join us,” Jerry said. 

“Yeah, I realize I’m late, Jerry. I ran into a little trouble, but i-i-i-i-i-it’s taken care of.”

They ate in silence. Inwardly, Morty was steaming. He didn’t even know why anymore. He glared at Rick, who occasionally caught his eye with an apathetic glance. Morty glared harder and Rick aggressively shoveled mashed potatoes into his mouth. Morty grabbed a slice of turkey with his bare hand and bit off the end.

“Okay, I’ve had it,” Jerry announced, setting down his utensils with a clatter. “What is going on with you two?”

Beth frowned, speaking under her breath. “I thought we were going to wait until after dinner.”

“What’s the point if we can’t even enjoy ourselves?” Jerry turned to Rick and then Morty. “I know you two haven’t been up to your usual crazy schemes. And I’m perfectly glad that Morty is able to do his school work uninterrupted, but I also know that something just isn’t right here.” Jerry addressed Morty directly. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it would be nice if you could give your grandfather a call once in awhile. Ever since you went to school he’s been moping around like you wouldn’t believe-”

“Oh _ CAN IT,  _ Jerry!” Rick spat, literally spitting as he spoke. He wiped his mouth with the back of his dirty hand. “All you’ve ever wanted is for me to-URP-to get the hell out of Morty’s life so he can live out his years a-a-a-a-as mundanely as you have. You’re getting your goddamn wish, so just shut your fucking trap.” 

“HEY! You cannot talk to me like that at my own table!” Jerry shouted. But Rick was already on his feet and heading for the hall.

“Goddamn it, you two!” Beth shouted, “I just wanted a normal Thanksgiving.” 

“That’s what I wanted!” Jerry howled. 

Morty and Summer ate silently, Summer texting under the table. “I’m just going to eat in my room,” she finally said, taking her plate and leaving. Morty left his food, no longer hungry. 

Down the hall, Morty could hear the shower running. He opened the bathroom door and went inside, and saw the tips of Rick’s hair above the shower curtain. The bathroom was beginning to steam up, and the noise of the water helped mute his parents yelling in the other room. 

“Rick-”

“Holy shit, Morty, you scared the shit out of- w-what are you doing in here?” Rick pulled the curtain to the side enough to look out at him. Soot or whatever was on him was half washed away, leaving dark trails down his neck and shoulder.

Morty crossed his arms. “I’m here because… b-b-because we need to talk, Rick! And I figure this is the only place you can’t walk away from me.”

Rick gave him a look of vast annoyance, and an eyeroll that could have killed. “Wh-wh… what do you want from me, Morty? I had an ass thrown up against my crotch for twenty-five minutes. I’m sorry… I’m sorry it had to be your ass, Morty. It’s just bad luck, that’s all it is. It’s bad luck, Morty.”

Rick closed the shower curtain and went back to washing off. Morty blew out a breath, trying to figure out what to do. Was Rick right? Of course he was. Morty bit his lip. He reached for the doorknob but stopped as Rick started up again.

“And you know what, Morty? I-I-I-I’m a little insulted. Before you went to school you thought I was going to replace you over this. I think I AGHBURRP deserve a little more credit. My Morty-voucher is in case you fall off a cliff, not for if I think you’re getting a little weird. Like I’ve said, you’re the BURRRP Mortiest-Morty. You can’t waste a thing like that.”

Morty stared at the frosted shower curtain, speechless. 

“Morty?” Rick pulled the curtain aside to look out, and they watched one another. Rick’s brow drew together as he intently studied Morty’s face. “Come here, Morty…”

Morty took a step closer, and then another. The steam billowed out from beside the curtain, and Rick reached out to him. He took Morty by the back of the neck and pulled him closer. Morty’s heart raced as Rick looked into his eyes. 

He brought his other hand to Morty’s face and dragged his thumb down his bottom lip. A shiver slid down Morty’s spine, his dick twitching in his jeans. Was this really happening? 

The answer was ‘no’. Technically it was, but it wasn't what he'd thought. Because Rick looked into his eyes a second time and said, “You’re infected with chromo-sephilous, Morty.”

He blinked. “W-What?”

“Your pupils are dilated. They’re blown up, like waaaay big. And your irises have turned silver.” He grabbed Morty’s lower lip and pulled it down the way one would inspect a horse’s teeth. “Your gums are discolored too. That’s a bad sign.”

“Infected?” Morty said, his voice cracking. “Wh-wh-what do you mean?”

Rick pulled away and shut off the water in the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and climbed out. “Sit up on the counter, Morty.”

Morty did what he was told, and Rick knelt down and pulled off his shoe. He peeled off his sock and grimaced. “Yeah i-i-i-i-it’s definitely what I thought. When you cut your foot on the beach the chromeo sand infected you.”

Morty turned his foot to look at it, and found the whole underside was turning metallic under the skin. Silvery veins had crept up his ankle as well. “Aw jeez! You told me it was safe to walk on.”

“To walk on, BURRRRP-yeah. Not to drag an open wound all over. Have you been walking on this all week?”

“Yeah…”

“Great. That’s just greeeat.” Rick stood. “I’m going to get dressed. Go wait in the garage.” Rick opened the bathroom door, sending in a gust of cold air as he left. Morty sighed. 

When he entered the garage, he found that everything was relatively the same. He hopped on his good foot over to the work table and sat on it. He looked down at his one bare foot, which wasn’t looking too great. How hadn’t Morty noticed this before? But he knew. It was because he’d been getting dressed in the dark, what with his roommate sleeping in every day.

Soon enough Rick joined him and began to gather some things. He brought over a box and a pair of vials, pouring the two into another. After that he opened the box, pulling out a syringe with the longest, thickest needle Morty had ever seen.

“Holy sh-sh-sh-shit, Rick! Are you going to stick that in my foot?”

Rick sucked his concoction up into the syringe and turned it, giving it a flick. “Sorry to say, but it’s going in your eye, Morty.”

Morty froze, mouth falling open.

Rick smirked, eyes still on the needle as he squirted some out. “I’m just screwing with you. It’s going in your leg.” Without any warning, Rick jabbed the needle into Morty’s thigh, right through his jeans. Morty yelped, gripping the table on either side of him as he was injected. He winced as the serum disappeared into him, spreading inside with intense cold. He felt like his leg was freezing solid from the inside. 

Finally Rick pulled the needle out and gave his thigh a friendly slap, which made Morty yelp from the pain. But soon enough the cold began to subside.

“I can’t believe you’ve been walking on a…. on a metal foot for a week,” Rick said. He opened another box and knelt in front of Morty. Morty stared at his foot as Rick began to rub it, pressing in a way that made a mercury-like substance begin to drip onto the floor from his wound. Morty turned white and looked away. It hurt like he couldn’t believe, but the sight of it was even worse.

“Yeah, chromo-sephilous isn’t pretty. It’s no fun at all.” 

Morty nodded stiffly, shutting his eyes as Rick continued the agonizing massage. When he finally opened his eyes, Rick was watching him. They both looked away. 

“So uh… S-S-S-So remember when you asked if I’d looked into the other Mortys? To see if any others were URP going through the same thing you were?”

“You said you hadn’t looked.”

“Yeah well I lied. I looked right after you left for school.”

“Well that f-figures.” Morty felt a pit form in his stomach. He was getting pits all too often these days. What had Rick found? Wondering made him both curious and scared shitless.

“I found a dimension where… where everything was up shit creek. It was the darkest- the shittiest place, Morty. The Rick there was… his liver was giving out. He overdid it, Morty. He overdid it and he wasn’t even trying to fix himself.”

“Jesus… Wh-where was the Morty? Was he with him?”

Rick began to rub Morty’s calf, gripping hard and working the silver in his veins downward. Morty gritted his teeth from the intensity of the pain. 

“No, he was dead. It was a senseless… it was a stupid accident, Morty. The Jerry there found out about them. About… what was going on. He tried to put an end to it. It was a stupid fucking accident. Now the Morty is dead and the Rick… h-he’s not going to be around much longer. He’s given up.” 

Morty forgot the pain. He and Rick looked at one another. 

“As much as I hate each and every Jerry, I can’t really blame him for this one. Any dad would flip his shit if he found out what they were doing. But things weren’t all cake and icecream before that either. The Rick told me his Morty wasn’t doing well. He didn’t… didn’t-URP sound like you at all.”

“How did it start with them?”

“That’s the kicker, Morty. You waited… you waited what, three years to tell me about this?”

“Yeah.”

“Well that Morty didn’t wait. He told Rick when he was fifteen. And the Rick… he didn’t seem to mind. It was fucked up, Morty. The whole thing was just shit creek.”

Morty watched the expressions pass over Rick’s face. Rick really didn’t like to talk about things that were important. Morty could see that Rick had a hard time telling him about this. Who wouldn’t? It hurt to see him feeling ashamed over something he didn’t even do.

“Y-You okay, old man?”

“Screw you,” Rick said, but his tone was a little softer.

“So what else did you see?”

“Huh?”

“What other dimensions did you visit?”

Rick blanched, which caught Morty’s full attention. “Uh… n-none. Just the-URP just the one.”

Morty’s eyes narrowed. “Rick, are you lying again?”

“No…”

“What else did you see?” Rick kept his eyes on Morty’s foot. “C-Come on, when have you ever babied me?”

“I-I-I-I-I just don’t want to talk about it, Morty. Would you… could you just leave it alone?”

Morty paused. Was it that much worse? How could it possibly be worse than the last dimension? But he had to know. He had to know even if it was the worst, even if he’d want to forget it once he’d heard. He needed every reason there was to just forget about his monumental attraction to Rick. 

“F-Fine,” Morty said. Rick continued to work in silence. Morty’s foot was still discolored at the end, but it wasn’t as bad as before. Rick put some kind of bright pink ointment on it and wrapped it up. 

Morty stood, leaning on his good foot. “Hey,” he said gently, “W-W-Want me to go steal the pumpkin pie? We can eat it in here.”

Rick looked more calm than he had before. “That’s a good idea, Morty. But I’ll get the pie. You keep the weight off that foot or I’ll have to do this again in a few days.”

Morty nodded and watched Rick leave. When he was out of the garage, Morty lunged for his interdimensional portal device. He began scrolling through the tiny screen, going back through the recent portals. Boy, Rick had kept busy over the last two months. Morty finally found the date when he’d gone away to school, and there were two portals logged into it. Morty knew what the first would be, and decided that he’d rather not see the world that Rick had described. Instead he set the device to the second location. He opened a portal and walked through it.

The world he entered looked exactly the same. The sky had clouds and the grass was grassy. Orange and brown leaves were scattered in a normal, Autumn way. Nobody was made of corn and the dogs didn’t walk their humans. Morty limped through town and watched the news in a TV store, and saw that they had the same old president and the same old wars. The hot dog stand on the corner still served the franks inside the buns, and they still tasted like crap. 

Morty went to his house. The walkway was still lined with pumpkins and gourds, and the door was still locked when he tried it. However this time Summer didn’t open the door. It made sense though. It was a little later now. He looked in the window and saw the family having Thanksgiving dinner. 

All five of them were there. Summer was texting under the table, and the Rick and Morty were eating. Rick took a sip from his flask. Morty threw a piece of stuffing at Summer. His parents were in one of their usual passive aggressive conversations, but it wasn’t all that bad. Or different. 

After a while the conversation grew more heated. Summer excused herself from the table, taking her plate to her room. The Rick and Morty exchanged annoyed glances, and took their own plates to the garage. The Morty here wasn’t limping.

Morty moved from the living room window to one of the small windows in the garage. The curtain was closed, but there was a small tear that he could see through. The Rick and Morty here had settled at the work table, eating on their laps while Rick waved some new gadget around. He handed it to Morty, who turned it over curiously as he ate. They talked about the gadget, and then Morty talked about college life. Rick looked bored, but he didn’t complain. 

After a few more minutes, the Morty stood and quietly murmured something to Rick. Rick continued to eat and tinker with the gadget as the Morty left the garage. Maybe he was going to the bathroom or grabbing two slices of pie. Morty waited. 

“ _ Hey _ .”

Morty jumped in response to the voice that came from behind him. He turned just in time to see the Morty from this world shoot him in the chest with _ something _ . It barely even hurt, but a second later he was seeing stars. After that he hit the ground with a thud, and everything went black. 

TBC 


	3. Chapter 3

Morty awoke to getting repeatedly smacked in the face. He blinked, bleary eyed, and found himself face to face with the other Morty, who was holding some kind of gun to his temple.  

“Don’t move,” the other Morty said.

Morty froze, more than happy to oblige. His eyes darted around just enough to see that they were in an empty parking garage, save for his… the other Morty’s car. He must have been dragged out of the car and propped up against the grill. He shifted and the other Morty pressed the gun harder.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, eyes narrowed.

“I was just…” Morty felt a twinge of embarrassment. His thing for Rick wasn’t something he felt comfortable admitting to just anyone. Even himself. 

“I-I-If it helps,” the other Morty said, “you’re either going to give me some answers, or I’m going to blow your brains out all over the front of my car. I’ll tell everyone I hit a deer, and then you’ll be… and then I’ll bury you in the backyard with the other Mortys.”

Morty gulped. “N-N-No need to do that. I’m not… I don’t mean any harm! I’m just here because… well it’s complicated. See, I uh… well, there’s this thing about me that’s kind of weird, and because of certain other things, I sort of thought you might be like me. I-I just came to see if it was true.”

The other Morty roughly grabbed him by the hair. “You’ll have to… You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

He cocked the gun and Morty burst out, “Okay, okay! I have f-f-feelings for my Rick. Like,  _ not  _ innocent feelings. I’ve been hiding it for years but I just couldn’t take it any longer and two months ago I told him. Ever since then things have been awkward and awful and then I heard he might have come here the day I told him. He-he-he told me how awful the other dimension was, where the Rick and Morty were together, but-”

“Hold it,” the other Morty said, suddenly very curious. “Tell me about the other dimension.” Morty told him everything that Rick had said, and the other Morty listened with a cool, unreadable expression. When Morty finished his story, the other Morty lowered his weapon. He sighed and tucked it into the back of his jeans. “You’re C137 Morty.”

“Y-yeah…?”

“C137 Rick did come here two months ago.” He stood and reached for Morty, helping him to his feet. “S-S-Sorry for the theatrics. We get a lot of Ricks and Mortys coming here to start shit with us. I wasn’t kidding when I said we have other Mortys buried in the yard. Ricks too. We have to defend ourselves a lot.”

“Oh. S-Sorry to hear.”

The other Morty looked at him. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

They went to a fast food drive-thru and ordered apple pies. Morty figured it was because they were missing Thanksgiving pie at home. They parked in the lot, eating side by side. 

“So you and your Rick… Do y-y-you guys-” 

“...do we  _ do it _ ?” the other Morty finished.

Morty went beet red. “Yeah, but… yeah, I guess.”

“Mm hm,” the other Morty said as he took a bite. “It’s great. I mean he’s still a complete asshole in general, but he’s kind of… I don’t know, a little more multifaceted. The sex is good and he doesn’t cheat-”

“What?!” Morty whirled on him. “Wh-wh-wh-what are you saying- what do you mean, ‘he doesn’t cheat’? You guys are… it’s like a thing? He-he-he doesn’t just fool around with you?”

The other Morty’s expression said enough. He chewed smugly. 

Morty huffed. “I’m s-so freaking jealous. And I don’t understand why Rick wouldn’t tell me about this place. He could tell me about the dimension where everything went to hell, b-b-but he couldn’t tell me about you?”

“Well sure,” the other Morty said, unfazed. “Picture yourself in his shoes. His grandson  _ wants  _ him. Sure it’s going to be easier telling him something discouraging than telling him something that’s going to get his hopes up.” Morty’s stomach turned over. They looked at each other, and the other Morty couldn’t hide a pitying expression. “What I’ve got with my Rick is… it’s r-r-really uncommon. Really rare.”

Morty nodded. He dropped the rest of his pie into the paper bag, unable to finish it. 

“Can I a-a-ask you a question?” said Morty.

“Sure.”

“What do you think went differently? With you and the dimension that went bad.” 

“Well you said that Morty told Rick when he was fifteen. It was the same for me. Almost as soon as I felt it, I told him. Only, you said  _ that  _ Rick and Morty got together right away. It didn’t happen that way for me. My Rick shot me down immediately. He swept it under the rug for two years. But… eventually we did talk about it. And that’s when he admitted the truth. He still waited another year until I was eighteen. He said that we were fucked up enough, and if we hadn’t waited, everything probably would have gone to shit. I guess he was right.”

Morty shook his head. “I-I can’t believe it. Your Rick waited three years to be with you.”

The other Morty stared out the windshield. “Hey, c-c-can I ask you a question too? Sort of off topic.”

Morty looked up. “Sure.”

“What happened to your leg? Why do you have a limp?”

“I-It’s my foot, actually. Rick and I delivered this weird... water-gelatin-thing and the sand on one of the planets started turning me into metal.”

“Yeah, the sand on Chromatron does that,” the other Morty said, “I-I know which trip you’re talking about. My Rick wouldn’t let me go with him. He said it was too dangerous.”

Morty almost exploded with jealousy. “Aw jeez! Your Rick was worried about you? Mine s-s-sure didn’t think twice about bringing me along.” 

The other Morty didn’t look smug this time. “But don’t you get it? Your Rick believes in you. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about the Rick and Morty from C137. E-e-e-especially you. You’re the ballsy Morty.” 

Morty flushed. “I-I-I don’t know about that. I don’t feel very ballsy.”

The other Morty shrugged. “Well your Rick sure thinks you are.”

xxx

On the ride home, a portal opened on the road right in front of them. The other Morty stomped on the brake and the car screeched to a halt, the front of it buried inside the portal. He put the car in reverse, backing out of the portal again. A moment later a Rick stepped out, and the other Morty leapt out of the car. He pulled out his weapon, aiming at the Rick.

“Calm your-URP tits, Morty,” the Rick said. He looked haggard, and a little drunker than usual. He looked from one Morty to the other. “Are either of you from-BURRRP C137?”

“ _ Maybe, _ ” the other Morty said. “Wh-wh-what’s it to you?”

That was when Morty thought that this other Morty was far, far more ballsy. But maybe it was just because of their environment. If he was constantly defending himself, maybe he just _ had  _ to be this way. Maybe he was compensating for being a naturally less-ballsy Morty. Maybe his Rick made him like this to keep him safe. 

“Well I’m Rick from… I’m the C137 Rick and I’m looking for my goddamn Morty.” He looked furious as he said it.

Morty turned, unrolling his window and leaning out. “Hi Rick. Th-That’s me.”

Rick’s expression transformed, as if the doctor had told him he didn’t have cancer after all. And then he was pissed again. “Where the… what the f-f-f-flying fuck were you thinking, running off on your own? Jesus Christ almighty.” Rick went for his door, pulling it open. “Get out.”

“Whatever,” Morty said defensively, unfolding from the car. 

“Let’s-URP go.”

Morty looked at the other Morty, who was watching them. They exchanged nods and Morty went through the portal. The ship waited on the other side, and Rick and and Morty climbed in. Rick powered up the engine and they took off.

Rick spoke through his teeth. “You find anything- y-y-y-you find what you were looking for?”

“No,” Morty said, because he’d been looking for another reason to forget about his feelings for Rick, and he hadn’t found any such reason. Rick looked surprised, like he’d expected a definite yes, as if he expected Morty to rub it in his face. But he hadn’t.

“I did learn something, though.”

“And what’s that, Morty?”

“I… I learned that you may not… that you may not want me the way I want you. But either way, you still think I’m pretty great.”

Rick barked out a laugh, his face going scarlet. “Yeah wow, big whoop. Look at you, Morty. L-look at you with your big revelation and your great big head.”

Morty studied his red face. Even if he didn’t like Morty, it was damn satisfying to watch Rick squirm. 

The ship set down, and Morty looked around. He hadn’t been paying attention and was surprised to find that Rick had brought him back to the university.

“What… what are we doing here, Rick? I-I don’t have to be back until the end of Thanksgiving break.”

“Yeah, I think we’ve spent enough-BUUURRRP quality time together for now.”

“Are you serious? What about my car?!”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Morty was furious. “What is this, Rick? Is this my punishment? Are you punishing me for using your p-p-precious portal device?”

Rick looked bored on top of angry. “How about y-y-you just call it whatever you want, Morty? How about that?”

“You’re s-such a dick, Rick.”

“Well there’s someth-BURP-something new.” 

And then Rick was leaning over Morty. Morty froze as he felt Rick’s warm, alcoholic breath on his face. But as soon as it began, Rick was reaching for Morty’s door. He pushed it opened and leaned back into the driver’s side. Rick looked out his own window and Morty felt raw with disappointment. But he knew that Rick couldn’t help it if he didn’t want Morty. The odds were against him after all. 

xxx

Campus was deserted. The buildings were dark and the autumn leaves blew drearily in the fading light. The walkway lamps flickered on and Morty limped his way back to his dorm. 

On his way to his room, he noticed his friend’s door was ajar. He knocked and opened it, and found his friend Mick sitting at his desk, staring at the wall. Mick, with his bowl haircut and overly straight posture, was awkward at the best of times.

“Hello Morty,” Mick said. 

“Hey. How come you didn’t go home for Thanksgiving?”

“We don’t celebrate.”

Morty waited for an explanation, but Mick just stared at him. He wished someone else had been there too. Mick was better in a group, when you didn’t have to make direct conversation with him. 

“So is anyone else here?”

“I don’t know.”

Morty felt a sinking loneliness. He wished he were still with Rick. And he knew he wasn’t because of having run off. He clenched his fists, angry at being treated like a child. He should be able to run off if he chose to. He’d been using that stupid portal device with Rick for years.  

That was when he heard a door slam in the distance. He stepped into the hall and saw a neighbor hurrying down the hall.

“Hey Morty.”

“Hey, you didn’t go home for Thanksgiving?”

“No, I did. I just came right back for the party that’s going on in town.” The neighbor slowed to a stop, although he didn’t seem like he wanted to. “Hey, you want to come with?”

Morty thought about the dark pit in his stomach from his falling-out with Rick. He imagined sitting alone in his dorm obsessing about it, or the alternative, hanging out alone with Mick who was a potato of a person. Maybe having a drink or two would help him feel better. It always worked for Rick.

“Yeah, sure. Y-You mind if Mick comes?”

The neighbor checked the time on his phone. “Fine, if he hurries up.”

The three of them walked to the outskirts of campus, to a little street where the parties were usually at. Most of the buildings here were dark, but Kappa Oblongata was loud and lit. Inside it was deafening, and smelled of beer and sweat and pot smoke.

“This seems like a bad idea, Morty,” Mick said. “We could just go back to the dorm and play cards or something.”

Morty ignored him, making his way to the keg. He filled two solo cups and returned to his friend. “I definitely don’t want to play cards,” he said, handing Mick the cup.

“I don’t drink,” Mick protested. “Hey, whoa!”

Morty was already chugging his drink. And since Mick had turned down the other, Morty began to drink that too. 

It didn’t take long for one drink to become six and then more. DMX’s ‘X Gon Give it to Ya’ blasted, and Morty jumped up and down in a crowd of other sweaty drunks. His head felt like it weighed more than his body, and nodding with the music felt fantastic. People screamed and hooted and someone spilled a drink over Morty. Morty dumped his drink over the other person and they high-fived. 

In the corner of the room, Mick stood watching the spectacle. Morty waved and Mick shook his head.

And then Morty saw her from across the crowd of dancers. She had already spotted him, and was smiling with a surprised look on her face. 

“Jessica?!” Morty said. He swayed, spilling a little beer down his arm. 

Jessica pushed through the crowd to him. “Hey! Morty, right?”

“Y-Yeah. I didn’t know you-URP went to this school.”

Jessica giggled. “I don’t go here. I’m visiting a friend.”

“Thas-cool,” Morty said, nodding.

“You look good, Morty,” Jessica said, appraising him with a smile. “You got so tall.”

Morty laughed goofily. “You’re just saying that because you’re drink.”

“Because I’m drink?” she chuckled. “Actually I’m not. I just got here. But hey, you want to dance?”

“Yes I do.”

Jessica grabbed Morty’s free hand, pulling him back into the crowd. They bobbed with the music, and she pressed herself back against him. He took her hips and went with it, the weight of his head keeping him moving more smoothly than he ever could while sober.

It was okay. Part of it was just mental, because it was Jessica. Jessica! Jessica, who he’d crushed on for years, was dancing with him. It was flattering, and satisfying. But it only felt okay. ‘Fine’ was a good word. 

Jessica turned around and wrapped her arms around Morty’s neck. She brushed her nose against his nose, then brushed her lips against his lips. Morty pulled back instinctively.

“What?”

“N-Nothing,” Morty said. But he could already feel himself pulling away. He wasn’t into it. “Eh, maybe I’m just… I just can’t.”

Jessica blinked, brows drawing together. “Why not?”

Morty smiled drunkenly. “Because I’m kinda... just sssssssso in love with somebody else.” He laughed at himself. “I’m in love with my g-MPH!”

Morty couldn’t finish because there was a hand clamped over his mouth. He glanced to the side and found Mick standing there.

“I think you’d better have some water, Morty,” Mick said, tugging Morty aside. He looked back at Jessica, who looked mildly disappointed as she waved. By the time they reached the hall, Jessica was approaching a new guy. 

“What the hell, Mick?” Morty whined. 

Mick ignored him, leaning him against the wall for support. “Wait here.” He returned with a bottle of water and a box of somebody’s crackers. “Drink and eat, Morty.”

Morty glared at him with annoyance, and Mick stared at him blankly. He broke open the water and drank, and almost immediately stopped. “Oh crap… I think I’m going to be sick…”

And they didn’t have another second after. Morty doubled over, puking all over his friend’s pants and shoes. Mick just stood there as it happened, and when Morty was done, Mick pulled him to his feet and helped him to the bathroom. Morty puked a while more, and then sagged over the toilet. 

Mick patted him on the back. “There there.”

Morty looked over at him, at his friend’s bad hair and awkward way of speaking and thought he was the biggest loser in the world. And then he was overwhelmed with shame, because he’d just puked on the guy who was literally being the most understanding person ever. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, apologizing for what he’d been thinking.

“What for?”

“I’m a dick,” he groaned, “When did I-URP- become such a dick?” But when he thought about it, he did know when. He’d been hanging out with Rick too often, and now he was drunk and mean and pathetic.

“You’re not a dick, Morty,” Mick said, finding some mouthwash in the cabinet. He gave Morty a little cup of it, and Morty gratefully swished and spat in the toilet. Mick flushed it down.

“I am a dick. I’m a bad, bad friend.”

“You’re not a bad friend. You’re a good kid, Morty.”

Morty blinked, looking at him with bleary eyes. “Whadya jussay?”

“You’re a good friend, Morty.”

Morty continued to stare, but then gave up trying to think about it. “Can I juss.. Can I have a minute? On my own.”

“Whatever you need, Morty.” And then Mick stood and closed the door behind him.

Alone, Morty slid to the floor and laid on his back. The music made the toothbrushes vibrate in their glass on the counter. The mirror cabinet shook a bit. Morty stared at the ceiling light, which spun around and around with the rhythm of his brain.

Morty’s phone buzzed, and he did what he could with his drunken limbs to maneuver it from his back pocket. There was a text message from Rick. This was unusual, not because Rick was sixty-something, but because he preferred to kick the door down when he had something to say. Also, the service in here was terrible, so it was surprising that he’d get a message at all.

Morty opened the message, which read, 

[Rick: Send pics (1/2)]

Morty burst into laughter, completely cracking up. Send pics? It was like something a horny boyfriend would text. What was Rick doing? Morty laughed again, not thinking too hard about it. Not that he  _ could  _ think too hard about it in this state.

“Yawant pics, Rick?” Morty said to his phone. “Well, h-h-here yago.” 

He held his phone in the air above him. With his other hand he pulled up his shirt. His drunken arm wouldn’t cooperate, taking one blurry photo after the other. Finally he held his shirt up in his teeth and held onto his phone with both hands. He winked at the camera and snapped a photo. It was perfect in his drunken brain. He looked just perfect, sprawled on a bathroom floor with his nipples perked from the cold and his face flushed from the booze. With another chuckle, he sent the picture to Rick.

A moment later another text came in. 

[Rick: of your foot in a few days. I need to see how it’s healing. (2/2)]

Morty’s eyes narrowed as he read it. And then he re-read the first message and put them together. 

_ [Rick: Send pics of your foot in a few days. I need to see how it’s healing.] _

“Fuck…” he groaned. Pictures of his foot? Fuck, fuck, fuck.

When the phone began to vibrate again, Morty nearly dropped it on his face. He steadied it in his hands and focused. It was an incoming call from Rick.

TBC

  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Morty stared at his phone and the incoming call. He finally answered it with a terse,  “Whaddayew want?”

“Wha-wha….. what do I want?!” Rick spat with a little more aggravation than usual. “I want to know what the fuck you're doing taking… t-t-t-taking pictures on a bathroom floor!”

“I'm at a party,” Morty explained, as if that was more than enough reason. “Did you like my picture?”

The phone was silent before Rick said, “You look like drunken shit, Morty. Go back to your dorm and sleep.”

“I don't wanna,” Morty said defiantly. “I'm gonna drink more and I'm gonna have sex with Jessica. Bye, Rick.”

Morty listened to Rick shouting as he ended the call and shoved his phone in his pocket. Fuck Rick. He wasn't going to dump Morty off and then try to dictate his life. Maybe he wasn't interested in Jessica anymore, but Rick didn't need to know that. 

There was a sudden, frantic knock at the door. “Morty?” Mick called out. “Are you alright?”

Morty rolled over and reached for the door, turning the lock into place. He sprawled back onto the floor. “Leave me alone.” 

“Morty, let me in. I want to make sure you're okay.” Mick twisted the knob but the door didn't open. 

“Mick, I'm fine. Go away.”

There was a long silence, followed by the loud crash of something hitting the door. More like, the sound you might hear if someone very strong threw themselves against said door. Morty scrambled backward, slipping on the carpet and being generally drunk and useless. There was another crash against the door, which split down the middle. Morty gaped at the long crack. Now people outside the bathroom were screaming and shouting. With a third crash, Mick broke entirely through the door. Like the Kool-Aid Man. He dusted himself off and straightened up. 

“You have to come with me, Morty. You're drunk and you need some sleep.”

“What the f-f-f-ffffff….. What the… the f-f-ffffff……” Morty gasped as Mick closed in. He finally found his voice after Mick had effortlessly thrown him over his shoulder. “WHAT THE FUCK, MICK?!”

“They're calling the cops, Morty. We have to go.”

“WHOSE FAULT IS THAT? PUT ME DOWN! WHAT THE FUCK?!”

It was probably due to his drunkenness that Morty didn't die of embarrassment as Mick carried him through the crowded house and out the front door. The last thing he saw was Jessica pulling her tongue out of some guy's mouth long enough to see him. 

Morty heard a rush of wind behind him and the sound of a door opening. He twisted around but not fast enough to avoid being dumped into the passenger seat of Rick’s ship. 

“What… W-w-w-wh…” He looked between Mick’s vacant expression and Rick, who was staring out the windshield in front of him. “Do y-y-you two know each other?”

“He's a robot, Morty. I-I-I built him to keep an eye on you.”

Mick shut the door and stepped away from the ship. The ship took off just as a cop car pulled up to the house. Morty looked at Rick, incredulous. “To keep an eye on me? School is the only time I’m  _ not  _ in trouble!”

“Y-y-y-you call being sprawled out on a bathroom floor BURRP okay?”

“I learned from the best,” Morty said as he leaned forward and began to fish around under the passenger seat. He found his grandfather’s emergency flask and downed a long swig. What was that, Hennessy Whiskey? He took another long drink until Rick noticed and took it away, tossing the open flask behind the seat. Morty giggled and slid forward in his seat, one knee up on the dash. Rick landed the ship on the flat roof of Morty’s dorm, and helped him down the stairs. The dormitory was empty, with its residents either home for Thanksgiving break or at the party across campus. 

They reached Morty’s room, where he’d left the door unlocked. Rick helped him inside. 

“Christ, I hadn-t-URP even gotten home before you sent that… that shit text.” 

Morty turned and swayed forward into Rick’s personal space. Rick took him by the shoulders to keep him steady. “I know why you’re really here,” Morty said, smiling.

Rick huffed. “Why d-don’t you enlighten me?”

Morty held onto the front of Rick’s lab coat. “You’re here because-URP because… when I told you I was going to sleep with Jessica…”

Rick’s face paled. Yes, Morty knew he had it right.

“...You were  _ jealous. _ You don’t want that, do you?”

Morty took a step closer and Rick took a step back, his legs hitting the bed. He fell backward onto the mattress and Morty went with him.

“M-Morty, quit it…” Rick said, trying to be patient as he pushed Morty back. He grabbed a handful of Morty’s hair to keep him from coming closer. Morty blinked, trying to focus as Rick spoke. “Since you’re so… s-s-so full of big revelations, how about you tell me something, Morty? The hell do you really want?”

Morty thought, brows high. “...A house with a white picket fence. And a dog that won’t take over the world. And you in an apron, baking pies.”

“Little ass-wipe,” Rick growled. Morty grumbled and pulled himself free, sliding to a more comfortable spot on the bed. 

“Okay, I want… I want to be the Mortiest Morty forever. And not just to impress you.” He looked at Rick with a genuine smile. “I juswanna do what I want, and go all the way with it. I wanna go to school, I want a degree and I want to be good at something. That, and I want you. Everything about you. I want us to go on adventures and then fuck through the adrenaline rush. Then I wanna go home and watch interdimensional cable with you and the fam. That’s… that’s what I want.”

Morty curled up to Rick, working his way on top again. Rick scowled up at him, but he let it happen. 

“Are we… are we done talking?” Morty slurred, “Cuz it’snot like I’m gonna remember any of this anyway.”

Rick blinked, eyes wide. He studied Morty’s drunken expression and leaned up, kissing Morty on the mouth. He lingered for a moment before pulling away and slipping out of the bed. 

Morty watched him from the bed, rubbing one of his eyes. He was dizzy from the sudden motion. Rick went to the door without looking back. “Get some sleep, you-URP little shit.”

Rick flicked off the light and slammed the door, leaving Morty alone in the dark. Morty was too tired to think. 

xxxx 

The morning sunlight greeted Morty like an ant getting fried under a magnifying glass. He winced, putting a hand to his aching skull. His dorm room was empty and his car keys were set on the desk beside his bed. 

Morty sat up, rubbing his head as he looked at the keys. The keys brought one memory back at a time, from getting dumped off at school by Rick, to the party where he’d drank way too much. And Mick had… Mick! Mick was a piece-of-junk-spy-robot from his grandfather. Morty swore. How had he missed that for two months? Mick’s name should have been enough to make him suspicious. But he supposed it was true, he wasn’t the most observant crayon. 

Morty tried to stand but winced and sat back down. His foot hurt like a motherfucker. He supposed that the alcohol last night had kept it from hurting at the time. He pulled off his sock to find his foot looking a lot more shiny than he’d like. Fuck. 

Morty had no choice but to drive home and face Rick. Rick, who had rescued him from his own stupid drunkenness, and… put him to bed? Returned his car? He couldn’t remember exactly. 

He reached home and went inside, where his father was watching TV. Jerry turned around, looking happy to see him. “Oh hey, Morty. I thought you’d gone back to school. Ooh, you look rough.”

“Yeah, I went to a party.” Morty limped over and sat beside his father. 

Jerry’s brows drew together. “You got drunk? At eighteen? At least tell me you didn’t have unprotected sex.”

“N-No, I don’t think I did. I woke up alone... in my clothes and shoes.”

Jerry seemed relieved to hear that, but not completely forgiving. “I’m still disappointed to hear that you went drinking. What happened to your big plans?”

“Nothing,” Morty said, growing defensive. “And I don’t have any big plans, I just want to go to school. Going to one party isn’t going to change the world.” 

“Well just remember, your mom could have been a real surgeon, but one party changed that forever.” 

“Where’s mom, anyway?” Morty said in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

“She was called into work.”

“And Summer?”

“In her room, enjoying her break without being under the influence of alcohol.” 

Morty stood up again, knowing he wasn’t going to find any peace from spending time with his dad. He went to the garage and found Rick where he thought he’d be, tinkering with some new device. He had his back to the door, and a strap around his head to some sort of goggles. He paused when Morty closed the door behind him, but then went back to what he was doing. “Can’t get a-a-a day’s work done without you showing up again.”

“Yeah well, wh-wh-whose fault is that?” Morty limped over and pushed the contraption away from Rick. Rick put up his hands in annoyance as Morty sat on the table in front of him. Morty kicked off his shoe and peeled off his sock. “Okay, do the thing.”

Rick removed his goggles. “The thing?” 

“The thing that hurts…” Morty said, looking off to the side with irritation.

Rick sighed and took Morty’s foot, studying it. “Yeah, we’re back to square one again. You’ll need another BURP injection.”

“Fine.”

Rick got up and prepared another syringe, and Morty closed his eyes before he felt the jab in his thigh. He gritted his teeth through the painful cold. He jumped as he felt a terrible, sharp new pain in the bottom of his foot, and opened his eyes to see Rick with a bloody scalpel and a clear plastic tube. 

“Your wound closed up, so we’re gonna need to use this instead. It’s not a great feeling, Morty.”

“No shit, Rick,” Morty barked. “You don’t need a high IQ to feel that!”

“S-Sorry, Morty.”

Morty’s eyes narrowed. He watched Rick with suspicion as he went about rubbing his ankle and foot, silvery liquid metal dripping down the tube and into the trash. Morty took deep breaths, the pain throbbing up his leg and seemingly into his lungs and brain. He stared at the ceiling, thinking about Rick’s apology. Rick finished the process and removed the plastic tube. With that, he wrapped Morty’s foot with a bandage and replaced his sock and shoe. 

“That was weird,” Morty murmured.

“What?”

“Y-You apologized. You  _ never _ apologize. It’s like… I-I-It’s almost as if you feel  _ guilty  _ over something.”

He looked down at Rick, whose face had paled. That’s when Rick snapped. “Look, i-i-i-i-i-i-i-it’s not my fault, okay Morty?!” He stood up, the chair rolling away behind him. “Y-y-y-y-y-y-you’re the one who started this shit two months ago.” 

Rick began to pace, running his fingers through his hair. “F-First you put the idea in my head and then you go off to school and leave me with it. I started having these… these nightmares. The first one was just like this, you were sitting on the work table just… j-j-just wearing this stupid smile on your face and biting your lip like a little creep. After that I had two or three more dreams where y-y-y-y-you just made me _watch_ while you- _._ ”

Morty listened, his jaw hanging open. “Rick…” 

Rick turned to face him, hands on his hips and expression furious. “Last night I just needed to… I-I-I just needed to know what it would be like, okay? I needed to see how badly I’d feel afterward.”

Morty’s eyes went wide. “Last night?! Wh-What are you talking about? What happened last night?”

“What do you mean… you don’t remember? You weren’t just referring to that?”

“I wasn’t referring to what?” 

And that’s when his memory finally put together the last missing piece, and he had a glimpse of Rick in his bed, leaning up and… 

“Oh.” 

Rick was tapping his foot on the floor, posture ridgid. He was looking every which way except for Morty. Morty stood up and limped toward him.

“Goddamn it Morty, y-you shouldn’t be walking on that foot!”

Rick came forward to force Morty to sit again. Morty didn’t stop him. He leaned back against the table, and he took Rick with him. He held Rick’s face in his hands and kissed him. 

Rick pulled away, gasping. “M-Morty this is seriously-”

“Just shut up, Rick,” Morty whispered, voice cracking. “Everyone already knows what you’re going to say, s-s-s-so just shut up, would you?” 

Rick glared at him, but he didn’t say a word. He looked broken, lips parted, eyes moving over Morty’s face. His lips twitched like he wanted to speak, but he didn’t. Morty kissed him again, and Rick let it happen. Morty pulled Rick closer by his coat and Rick grabbed his thigh. Morty whimpered from the pain as Rick’s hand tightened around the spot where he’d been injected. The sound made Rick pull back, stepping away.

“W-wait…” Morty pleaded. 

Rick went for the door. 

“Rick, wait!”

Rick turned the lock, and Morty felt like the world was turning right side up again. Rick was back in a second. He kissed Morty hard, pulling him impossibly closer. 

“I want you so bad,” Morty groaned as Rick explored his neck, hands gripping Morty’s t-shirt. 

“I know, I know…” 

Morty hooked his good leg over Rick’s hip, pulling them together. He’d gone from zero to sixty, and Rick was looking at him like a man dying of thirst. God, that look was all he could ever want. 

“Come on,” Morty said, grinding against Rick. “Th-The door’s locked.”

Rick suddenly looked pained. “Small p-BURP-problem, I-I-I don’t keep condoms in the garage. Or lube.” When Morty gave him a disappointed look, he added, “I don’t exactly use our house as-URP as a love shack.”

Rick undid the button on Morty’s jeans before pausing. “You good with a blow job?”

Morty flushed scarlet. “Y-Y-Y-You mean you? On me?”

“No, I mean on the next door neighbor. Yeah, on you.”

Unable to lace words together, Morty nodded. Rick moved down to his knees, completely nonchalant. He unzipped Morty’s pants and tugged them down to his thighs, and pressed his mouth against Morty’s stretched underwear. Morty gasped, holding onto Rick’s hair. He could feel Rick’s hot breath through the fabric. 

Rick slid Morty’s underwear down with his jeans and licked his lips. 

“You look… s-s-so nice…” Morty stammered. 

Rick looked stricken by the comment, his expression angry. Morty had never seen him like this. He usually took compliments as obvious truths. Rick grabbed Morty’s erection and spoke with his mouth against the side of it. “Just be quiet.” Morty shivered from the feeling of Rick’s lips against his bare skin, and gasped as Rick turned and swallowed him down. 

Rick pulled away and sunk down onto Morty again, and Morty pulled his shirt up to keep it from brushing against Rick’s face. That’s when Rick pulled back, completely away. He looked up at Morty, a flicker in his eyes. “Hold your shirt up with your teeth. L-L-Like you did in that photo you texted me.” Morty did what he was told and Rick smirked. “That’s so fucking hot, Morty.” With a wide grin, he licked Morty’s dick, base to tip. 

Morty bit down on his shirt, groaning as Rick took him in again. They started a rhythm that was never slow. Rick was merciless, and Morty didn’t have enough control to slow him down. He groaned against the t-shirt hem, rocking his hips until Rick had to hold them still. Morty opened one eye long enough to see Rick reaching down into his own pants. If this wasn’t already completely and perfectly erotic, seeing just how much Rick enjoyed sucking him off was what sent him over the edge. 

“Rick, I’m- agh!” He came hard and without warning, and let out a heavy breath as Rick slowed to a stop. “P-Please come here,” Morty begged. 

With a grunt, Rick rose to his feet. Morty kissed him, licking the cum from the corner of his lip. Rick’s mouth seemed tired and pliable, and he let Morty kiss him hard. Morty undid Rick’s belt and reached into his pants, working his hand against Rick’s erection. It took less than a minute to finish him, and Morty almost got hard again as Rick made a desperate sound against his mouth. 

“You’re s-s-s-so perfect,” Morty murmured. 

Rick covered Morty’s mouth, looking entirely displeased with the statement. “Just shhh,” he said, his voice rough. 

There was a knock at the garage door that froze them both. Morty’s dick was still out, and he still had his hand shoved down Rick’s pants. Thank God the door was locked. His parents didn’t have a key, did they?

“W-What?” Rick called out.

“Is Morty in there with you?” Jerry said through the door. “Did he tell you he got  _ drunk _ last night? Not that you’re the best influence.”

“Yeah we’re-BURRP talking about it,” Rick said, rolling his eyes. He and Morty began zipping and buckling things, and generally putting themselves back together. Rick hurriedly combed his fingers through Morty’s hair to make him look presentable, and Morty did the same, helping Rick’s hair to stick out the way it usually did. 

“Normal?” Morty whispered.

“Normal,” Rick replied. 

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Morty was lucky enough to find a crutch in the back of the coat closet, leftover from when Jerry had taken a tumble down the stairs last winter. He didn’t even have to lie about his injury, since his parents were accustomed to him getting banged up on adventures with his grandfather. 

Said grandfather was sitting on the far end of the table from Morty as the family had dinner. Dinner was Thanksgiving leftovers, the only leftovers of the year that everyone looked forward to. 

“You’re both so hungry,” Beth commented, looking back and forth between Rick and Morty. They paused, mouths full, and exchanged glances. 

“W-We missed lunch,”  Morty said. Rick continued to eat without comment. 

“I take it you two are getting along again?”

Morty nodded. 

Beth sighed into the silence. “I guess I’m not going to get much more than that out of you two.”

“Morty,” Jerry said before stabbing a piece of turkey. “Are you going to tell your mother about what happened last night?”

Rick shifted in his seat. “Man Jerry, y-y-you sure love to-BURP be the tattle tale don’t you?”

Jerry looked unfazed. “Being open with one’s wife is not being a tattle tale.” He turned to Beth. “Morty got drunk last night!” 

Beth put her fork down with a clatter. “He what?!”

Morty hunched over his food, spearing his vegetables and pushing them around the plate. “I-I’m sorry, okay?”

“You’re sorry? Morty, I want to talk to you alone in the kitchen.” Beth stood up and Morty sulked after her. She turned to him, hands on her hips. “Morty, what were you thinking? You can’t just go off drinking and not expect any consequences.”

“I did have consequences! I got really sick, and I-I felt awful the next morning.”

“Why did you do it?”

“What?” 

“Why did you go out and drink to begin with?”

Morty looked away. “I guess… I was under a lot of stress.”

His mother nodded. “Honestly Morty, that’s the answer I was the most afraid of, and the one I expected. Look, some people can’t just drink a little. Our family has… we’re not the best at taking it easy. I don’t like to bring it up in front of your father, but that’s the way it is. And if I have to be honest to protect you, I will.”

Rick sidled into the kitchen, leaning on the counter. “It’s-URP well he only did it one time. Not exactly a marathon runner.”

Beth whirled on him. “Dad, you are the last person who should be a part of this conversation!”

“Jeez Beth, chill out.”

“No, I won’t! Look at him.” She gestured wildly to Morty. “Do you want him to end up like you? Or even me? Drowning his problems away?”

Rick was unperturbed. “Morty’s fine. Aren’t you, Morty?” 

“Morty is eighteen. Eighteen! That’s how old I was when I started. And what about you? Huh, Dad?” 

“Psh, I don’t know.” 

Beth glared at him, and Rick looked away. “You were eighteen too. Mom told me. Now please leave.”

Rick looked at Morty, whose eyes were on the floor. He stepped out of the room, but it was impossible not to overhear the conversation.

“Morty, I want you to make better decisions when you go back to school,” Beth said.

“I will, Mom,” Morty said sincerely. “But… but don’t blame Rick. He didn’t have anything to do with it. It was my mistake. Honestly.”

Rick listened as Beth struggled with what to say. “Look Morty, I know how much you love your grandfather, and I know he cares about you. But he can’t even make good decisions to benefit himself, much less you. Alcoholism  _ defines _ him, Morty. Is that what you want for yourself?”

Morty didn’t answer, and Beth sighed. “Alright. Well, you’re grounded. I want you home every weekend and I want you here during the entirety of your breaks until next semester.”

“Okay.”

Rick pulled his flask from his inner coat pocket and took a swig.

xxxx 

That evening, Summer stayed up watching TV until she fell asleep on the couch, and Beth and Jerry went to bed a little after ten. Unable to sleep, Morty slipped out of bed and used his crutch to reach the bathroom. He turned on the shower and got in, letting the water rush against his ears and consume the silence in the house. He turned when he heard the door creak open and shut again, and peeked out behind the curtain. Rick was there, turning the lock. 

“Busy?” Rick asked, his voice hushed.

Morty grinned. “No. Y-Y-You want to get in?”

Rick pulled off his shirt and Morty returned to the shower, partially to rinse the soap off his face and partially out of embarrassment. He heard Rick climb in behind him, and felt familiar hands on his skin. He shuddered as Rick pressed a kiss to the nape of his neck. 

Rick slid his hands over Morty’s hips and up along his stomach, lingering on the dip at the bottom of his sternum. What had the doctor called it? Pectus excavatum, an abnormal development of the breastbone. His was very mild, almost unnoticeable, but it had always bugged him in the locker rooms. 

“In one of my dreams,” Rick murmured, fingers still trailing over the dip in Morty’s chest. “You were sprawled out on my bed, holding a b-bottle of Grey Goose. You poured it on your chest, and I drank it right out of here.” Rick rubbed the spot on Morty’s chest, making him flush with the idea. 

“W-W-Would you want to do that some time?”

“Maybe,” Rick said, but the ‘maybe’ sounded like a ‘no’. He didn’t question it.

Rick moved closer and murmured against his skin. “I want to fuck you, Morty.”

Mortys stomach felt weightless. “O-Oh?”

And then Rick was reaching around him for the cocoa body oil which belonged to one of the women in the house. Morty didn’t look, but watched Rick return the bottle where he’d found it. And then Rick’s slick fingers were sliding along the cleft of his ass. “This what you want?”

Morty nodded quickly. He closed his eyes as he felt a finger press inside of him. It wasn’t enough to hurt, just felt good. And ooh, Rick had long fingers. Morty had envisioned Rick using his hands so many times; gripping his hair, jerking him off, making Morty lick cum off his fingers... His wandering mind was pulled back as Rick’s finger pulled out and pressed in again, followed by a second. 

Morty whimpered, hands moving to steady himself against the tile wall. Yess.

“Gotta be quiet,” Rick murmured, and Morty nodded. His mouth opened as Rick’s fingers began to lazily pump in and out of him. Rick’s other hand slid down to grab hold of Morty’s rear, and he groaned. “Shit, Morty, you’ve got a nice tight ass. I just… I just wanna…” 

And then Rick was moving, bending over, kneeling behind Morty. He grabbed Morty’s cheeks with both hands and spread him open. “A-Arch your back a little for me.” Morty hesitantly followed the instruction and waited. His eyes widened as he felt stubble against his skin, and oh Christ, Rick was definitely licking his hole. He covered his mouth, stifling a groan as Rick’s thumbs spread him further open, and his tongue began to work its way inside him. Morty’s head pressed against the tiles, legs trembling as Rick ate him out. 

It went on and on until Morty couldn’t take the aching in his dick. He reached down to stroke himself, only to have Rick swat his hand away. “C’mon Rick,” Morty whined, and Rick pulled back to shush him. “Riiick…” 

Rick stopped what he was doing and stood, turning Morty to face him. After all these years they were finally the same height, give or take an inch. Morty looked over Rick’s wet body, skinny and aged, and strung with lean muscle. In turn, Morty knew his own body to be average, flat planes and bony wrists and elbows. It was the body of someone who didn’t overeat but didn’t work out either. 

Morty studied the scars on Rick’s skin, from both adventures and setbacks. There were quite a few he recognized, including the bullet mark over Rick’s liver. Morty had a couple of his own too, but it wasn’t something either of them cared about. 

“Tell me e-e-e-exactly what you want, Morty,” Rick said, a smirk on his face. Morty loved the look in his eyes, that burning, indescribable... thing. 

“I want…” A sudden sharp pain went up his leg. “I-I-I want to sit down.” Morty suddenly grabbed hold of Rick, who held him steady. “Sorry Rick, my foot is just being a pain all of a sudden.”

Rick growled. “Shit, I forgot your f-fucking foot.”

Rick stepped out of the shower and Morty panicked. “Wait, I still want to…”

“Me too, Morty, j-j-j-just hold your horses.” 

The water continued to run, both of them in silent agreement to keep the background noise alive. Rick helped Morty out of the shower and then directed him to the bathroom counter. In a quick motion, Rick grabbed Morty and set him up onto the counter, dripping and naked. Morty’s eyes were wide. “H-H-How did you do that, Rick? I’ve got to weigh… at least as much as you do.”

“Fat chance, stringbean,” Rick smirked, “I may have quit the juice, but Summer and I still go to the gym.”

“L-Let’s not talk about her,” he muttered as Rick grabbed his pants off the floor and fished around in the pockets. He pulled out a small bottle of lube and a condom and returned to Morty. 

Something about seeing the condom made the whole thing more real to Morty. He had a feeling he wasn’t alone on this, when Rick hesitated after tearing it open. What if Rick regretted it afterward? You couldn’t un-fuck your grandson. But this was seriously the best damn moment in Morty’s entire life, and he told his brain to just shut the fuck up and enjoy it. 

He leaned forward and brushed his mouth against Rick’s chest, breathing in the smell of him combined with the almost chocolate scent of the cocoa oil. He wrapped his arms around him, sliding his hands up Rick’s back. His skin was warm and damp, and Morty could feel the muscle beneath. 

“Having fun-BURP feeling me up?”

“Yes,” Morty said, because not even Rick’s attitude could stop him from enjoying this. He pressed an open-mouthed kiss against Rick’s chest, right over his heart. He licked and then sucked, and he could feel the thudding quicken beneath his lips. He grazed the spot with his teeth and then sucked again, hands tightening over Rick’s shoulder blades. 

“Alright, enough,” Rick muttered, but he sounded breathless. He gently pushed Morty away, and Morty wondered if Rick had looked so flushed a moment ago. He was certainly harder. Rick rolled the condom down in a quick motion, and lifted Morty’s leg. Morty’s pulse raced as he was slicked with lube. And then he felt Rick’s cock pressing against him and sliding in. His eyes fell shut and he leaned back against the mirror. It hurt a little, but it felt even better. 

Morty felt a breath against his hair, and opened his eyes to see Rick leaning close to him. “Jesus,” Rick muttered, pressing in deeper. Morty let out a noise, taking in the pain and the agonizing, strange pleasure. “You okay?”

“Y-Y-Yeah…” Morty breathed. “Just hurts a little.” Rick started to withdraw but Morty grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. “No, I… I want it. I want it real- really badly…”

“Kay baby,” Rick murmured. Morty shut his eyes again, holding onto Rick’s arms, fingers tight, encouraging. Rick began to rock, slowly and carefully, nothing like the way he’d gone down on him in the garage. When the burn eased, Morty began to rock back against him, and Rick turned up his pace. 

“R-Rick… can you…  _ more… _ ”

Rick’s hands felt hot against his hips, holding him tighter, pulling them together with each thrust. Rick took Morty’s hand and brought it to his dick, and Morty began to stroke himself.

“Y-Yeah Morty, show me how you like it.” 

Morty was too engrossed to be embarrassed. He jerked himself the way he’d do it alone in his room, just however felt the best. And God, did it feel good with Rick fucking his ass. A moment later Rick pushed his hand away and replaced it with his own, and began to jerk him off exactly the way Morty had. Jesus, had he just watched and learned? Morty covered his own mouth as Rick stroked him.

“Look at you…” Rick murmured. 

Morty opened his eyes, flushing hard because Rick really was looking at him,  _ marveling _ . “S-Shut up, Rick.”

“Kay,” Rick said, like he wasn’t listening. His expression broke and he groaned. “But just… f-f-fucking  _ look at you… _ ”

Rick’s pace suddenly became frantic. He stroked Morty tighter, fucking into him with full force. Morty grabbed at the sink and the counter, holding himself there and doing everything in his power not to cry out loud. That was it, the spot right there and yes, yes, yes… He pulled Rick closer, nails scratching his arms, and he came hard. He trembled and felt Rick’s cock twitch inside of him. Rick froze, body going rigid as he followed suit. 

They sat there, panting, getting their bearings. Slowly Rick pulled out and Morty unfolded himself, aching from the position. His back ached and his rear throbbed and everything was amazing. Rick pulled off the condom and turned off the shower. They looked at one another, neither quite sure what to do.

Rick grabbed a towel and handed it to Morty. They were mostly dry by now, but toweled off anyway. They got dressed in silence.

Morty stole a glance at Rick, who was looking away. He couldn’t take it anymore. “What are you thinking, Rick?”

Rick’s concentration broke and he looked at Morty. “I’m-BURP waiting for something, Morty.”

“W-Waiting for what?”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”  Rick hung up his towel. “Y-Y-You should get some sleep, Morty. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Morty stood there as Rick opened the bathroom door and closed it behind him. He sighed, waiting a moment before heading for his bedroom.

xxxx 

Morty woke up in pain the next day, and his insides were the least of it. His foot hurt, and his back hurt even worse. He removed the old bandage on his foot, and despite the pain, he was pleasantly surprised to see how much better it looked. Hardly any shine. He put on a new bandage and got up. 

Rick wasn’t in his bedroom. Morty crutched his way over to the garage and found that Rick’s ship was gone. Typical. He went to the kitchen, where his mom was toasting a bagel.

“Have you seen Rick?”

“No. Do you want a bagel?”

“No thanks.” 

Morty crutched into the living room and slid onto the couch beside Summer, who was still curled up with a blanket over her. She shifted, kicked him and got comfortable again.

“Have you seen Rick?”

“No. I’m sleeping.”

Morty waited around. The morning turned into the afternoon, and then the evening. He checked the garage again, looking to see if there was a note he’d missed. But what the fuck? Rick didn’t leave notes. This was stupid. He checked Rick’s bedroom for notes and then even his own. He checked inside the bathroom mirror cabinet. Morty tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep. 

Rick didn’t return the next day, or the day after. 

At dinner Morty asked, “Is it normal for him to be gone so long?”

Jerry blotted the corner of his mouth with a napkin.“Could you really call anything normal when it comes to your grandfather?”

“Yes,” Beth answered, more helpfully. “Sometimes he doesn't come home for a few nights, and then he shows up like everything's normal. I wouldn't worry about it, sweetheart. He'll be back.”

But he was not back. Days passed and Morty had to go back to school because the break was over. He called home everyday to see if Rick was there, but he wasn't. 

Sleep did not come easily. Morty thought for long hours about what Rick could have been waiting for when they were in the bathroom. He said he was waiting for something, but what? Had he been waiting for Morty to say or do something that he hadn't?

It sounded cliche to call himself broken hearted, but he couldn't find a better word for it. Twenty-six days had passed and Rick Sanchez was gone.

TBC

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone feels like chatting about Rorty, hit me up! I'm here or JenKristo on tumblr.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Chapter 6 contains a death-related theme. C137 Rick and Morty will be fine though!

 

The therapist’s office hadn’t changed. Same plants, same fountain that sounded like a toilet. Morty dropped into the seat more carelessly than he had the first time. The balding therapist sat across from him, flipping through the pages of his clipboard.

“Welcome back, Morty. It’s been a while.”

Morty slid down in his very soft seat, arms stretched over the cushioned arms of the chair. It was comfortable, the kind of chair you could fall asleep in if left alone in it. But he was antsy, anxious. “Yeah..”

“So, in our last session we talked about an individual whom you’ve been interested in for a long time, and that you finally shared your feelings with them and it didn’t pan out well. I understand that you were probably going to see them over the break? Did that end up happening?”

He nodded. “Y-Yeah… It was- I mean…” Morty stood and paced, limping on his bad foot and rubbing the back of his neck. The therapist stayed seated, watching quietly. “L-L-L-Look I’m just having a hard time with- It isn’t easy for… agh I want to talk a-a-a-about this but…” He breathed heavily, hands on his hips and shoulders squared. 

“Take your time,” the therapist said. “This is a safe place. You can talk about anything.”

“I know I-I-I want to but…” He studied the balding man and his brown loafers and the pen in his shirt pocket. He was entirely unthreatening but God, how did you just tell someone this? Morty sat back down.

“Okay, I…” He closed his eyes. “It’s my grandfather I’m talking about.”

The therapist looked up from his clipboard. Morty couldn’t tell a thing from his face, but he didn’t care all that much. “A-A lot happened over Thanksgiving break. He changed his mind and we... w-w-w-we h-had sex. Sort of twice, I guess.”

The therapist put his clipboard on his desk without looking away from him. Morty could practically see the cogs turning in the man’s head. “Did you agree to it? It was consensual?”

He nodded. 

“How are you feeling now?”

Morty shifted in his seat. “I’m- Well I  _ was _ great. I-I-I-I mean, when it happened it was great. It was kind of unbelievable. He’s…” Morty trailed off. “But he left. The next day he was gone. His ship- I mean, his car was gone.” He looked at his feet. “He’s been gone for weeks.”

“Has anyone filed a missing person’s report?”

Morty smiled darkly. “Rick isn’t the kind of guy you could find.” Honestly, Rick wasn’t the kind of person who would go missing on their own planet, much less their own dimension. If he wanted to disappear, the fuzz wasn’t going to find him. 

“He’s not missing. He left. He’s out there somewhere, and I just… why would he do that?”

The therapist looked concerned. “Do you want an honest answer? It may not be easy to hear.”

Morty blinked. “Y-Yeah. Yes I do.”

“I’m sure you understand how taboo incest is in our culture, how it is in most cultures. As creatures trying to spread genes in the most efficient way, it’s against our nature to feel intergenerational attraction. I’m not saying this judgmentally. From his perspective, he likely feels profoundly guilty for what he’s done. He probably feels that he’s disgraced his legacy as a grandfather. And if your parents found out, he would have betrayed their trust beyond measure, and ruined his relationship with his own child. Even more, he likely feels that he’s ruined his relationship with you and failed to act in your best interest.” 

Morty’s eyes burned. He didn’t want to hear any more, and thankfully the therapist stopped. “I d-don’t know if he’d think about all of that. I-I-I-I mean, m-maybe? He doesn’t… h-he isn’t exactly one to think about people’s best interests.”

And there was a thought that Morty couldn’t explain to the therapist, something that sat heavily in the bottom of his stomach. He remembered c132, how they’d destroyed it all because Morty wanted some girl to like him. They had abandoned it because it was beyond hope. 

Maybe, just maybe, his grandfather had abandoned this dimension too. Maybe c137 was just another sinking ship to Rick. Maybe he’d already found a new dimension, one without a Rick, with a Morty who wouldn’t coerce him into sex. Maybe he’d found a dimension where he could have a normal grandson. 

He closed his eyes. He felt like there was broken glass in his chest, imagining that Rick had already settled into a new life with a new family. Maybe that Morty had chosen not to go to college, and was spending all his time with Rick. Maybe he was smarter. 

“You can’t change how your grandfather feels,” the therapist said, “But you can make things better for yourself. If you’d like to, we can work past this together.”

“I don’t want to work past it,” Morty said right away. His fingers gripped the material of the chair. “I-I-I-I-I’m not ready to give up on him. M-Maybe he’s done with me, but I’m going to make him say it to my face.” He stood up. “I have to go.”

“Morty, wait-”

But he had already gotten to his feet, grabbed his crutch and left. He drove home from school, no longer worried about his afternoon classes. He entered his house, which was empty. His mother was at work, his father at his new job orientation. Summer was at her own school. Rick was… well, he was going to find him.

Morty went to the garage. He flicked on the light and looked around. Something had occurred to him when he’d thought about visiting the other Morty, when he’d stolen the portal gun. How had Rick gotten to him? The answer was that he had another. 

Morty tore the room apart. He opened the cabinets and drawers. He pulled boxes off the shelves and spilled the contents out onto the floor. He pried open the hatch to the underground lab and tore that apart as well. 

He went into Rick’s bedroom and rifled through his closet and the drawers filled with clothes and hidden bottles of liquor. He found a few porn magazines, both human and alien. Morty tossed them aside and went to Rick’s desk, looking through the drawers. In the bottom he found a leather-bound book, and discovered that it was a family photo album. It was the most normal thing that Rick owned. Morty looked through it, discovering other little things tucked into the plastic windows. He had folded drawings Morty had made when he was young, and a paper with his child hands stamped with paint. He had Morty’s school photos from every year. He hadn’t even been around for most of those years, but he had them. 

And then Morty remembered that this album likely belonged to the Rick who had exploded in the garage, whose body was buried in the yard. That made him close the drawer and stand. 

Hopeless, he went to Rick’s bed and curled up on it. He breathed in the smell of the pillow and it made him ache inside. He turned over and pushed the pillow, trying to move an uncomfortable lump. He shifted it again, and pulled the pillow aside. Wedged between the wall and the mattress was the second portal gun. 

xxxx 

Checking the log, Morty discovered that the gun had not been used since Rick had dumped him off at school. He searched farther back and came across the date that he had first told Rick about his feelings before leaving for college. 

As he’d seen before, there were two logs for that day. One was the dimension where he’d found the Rick and Morty who were a sappy little couple, and the other where Morty had wound up in the ground. 

Morty had nothing to go on. Rick could be anywhere at this point. But these two dimensions had significance to what had unfolded between them, and so they would have to serve as the starting point. He’d already visited one of them, and so the best course of action was to visit the other. He didn’t want to, but he’d have to. 

Morty selected the destination and opened the portal. Crutch under his arm, he walked through it. 

He came out in a garage, the same garage but not. This one was full of gardening tools and junk, trash cans and bags of wine bottles. He went to the door and listened inside the house. Hearing nothing, he carefully made his way through it, continuing to check for other people. But no one was home. The house was dark, and it was filthy. Bags of trash were piled up behind the couch, and the sliding glass back door had a long crack that was sealed with duct tape. 

Summer’s bedroom was about the same, partially empty from living at college. His parents room was a mess. Wine bottles cluttered the bedside. His father’s clothing and personal items were gone, his closet left open and eerily empty. Morty found his father’s office destroyed, his personal items all dumped into trash bags in the corner, and the furniture missing or shoved out of the way. Some of the smaller furniture lay broken as if they’d been thrown there. 

Throughout the house, the pictures had been taken off the walls. 

When Morty reached his own bedroom, the hairs on his arms stood on end. The room was spotless. His bed was made, his books and videogames stacked perfectly. His shirts hung in the closet and his jeans were folded in the drawers. And there on top of the dresser was a framed photo of him surrounded by unlit candles. A shrine. Morty backed out of the room. 

He sifted through the mail that was piled up on the kitchen counters. An unopened medical bill caught his attention, and he found that there were several others beneath it. He opened one of them and looked it over. It was for Rick.

xxxx 

A few phone calls and a bus ride brought Morty to a low-end Care Facility across town. Using his crutch, he slowly walked up the gravel driveway and the wheelchair ramp and looked around the lobby. The receptionist was away from her desk, trying to calm down a wailing old woman with a walker. Nine sickly-looking people had their wheelchairs parked in front of a TV where Wheel of Fortune was blasting. 

Morty walked down the hall and read the labels across the intersecting hallways. Memory Care, Hospice Unit… Morty paused. Hospice Unit. Morty crutched quickly, dodging a nurse as he looked at the names on the doors. He began to hurry as he came to the end, reaching the last door on the right. Suddenly Summer came through the door and they nearly crashed into one another.

Summer gasped, looking at him with wide eyes. “M-Morty,” she breathed. After a moment, her face changed from shock to resignation. “You must be from a different dimension.”

“Y-Yeah..”

Summer looked at him wearily. “Why are you here?”

Morty hesitated. “M-My Rick is missing. I know he came here before and I thought… maybe I’d find… I don’t know. Something.” 

Summer looked away, sad and disinterested. “Do you want to sit?”

After finding nowhere better, they sat right where they’d been standing, in the hall against the closed door to Rick’s room. Summer had her arms wrapped around her knees. 

“Mom came home early from work one day and caught them together. Like, fooling around.”

Morty nodded, looking away. 

“She told Dad and then I found out, and everyone started to freak out. Dad especially. He was just... crazy. He was so angry. He wanted Grandpa Rick to leave and never come back, and Mom didn’t even stop him. She just cried and drank and screamed at Rick. But Rick wouldn’t go and Morty kept getting in the middle of things, trying to get everyone to calm down. 

“Well it turns out that Dad had bought a handgun a while back, in some dumb attempt to be macho and keep the house safe from intruders. He came out of the bedroom with it, yelling and waving it around. We all knew he was just trying to scare Rick, to have the upper hand for once. He was just trying to get him to leave, but Rick wouldn’t let up and Morty tried to intervene. There was a struggle and the gun accidentally went off and… Morty just…” Summer took a breath. “Mom tried to save him but he bled out.”

Summer rubbed her knees. “Dad’s in prison and Grandpa Rick’s too sick to be home anymore. Not that Mom would let him live there. It’s just Mom and I now.”

The Rick in the other room began to call out weakly. Summer looked up at the door, but didn’t bother to move. “Spiders... Somebody get the... fucking spiders...”

Morty looked at Summer, alarmed.

“It’s related to... Spider hallucinations are pretty common.”

Morty nodded. “How… how long does he have?”

Summer shrugged. 

Morty looked at the door, at a loss for what to do. He couldn’t just go in and scare this Rick to death. But he needed answers. Would there even be any answers? He didn’t know anything. More than ever this trip felt like a huge mistake. 

“You can go inside if you want,” Summer said. Morty was surprised. “I don’t know if you’ll get any answers. He’s lost a lot of his brain functions.”

“O-Okay.”

“But you have to promise not to judge him.” She gave him a steely look. “He’s already been punished for what he did. I just… I want him to get some peace. I know that’s what Morty would have wanted.” 

Summer helped Morty to his feet, and Morty took his crutch and entered the room. He heard Summer close the door behind him, to give them some quiet. And it was quiet, save for the heart monitor’s steady beep. Rick had his head turned the other way, but Morty could already see how bad he was. His arms were thinner, his skin laced with scabbed fingernail scratches. 

Morty crutched around the bed and took a seat on the chair. This Rick’s face was gaunt, and when he opened his eyes, the whites were pale yellow. 

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Uhh, I-I’m Morty… Morty from-”

“What time is it?” Rick interrupted. Morty looked around fruitlessly for a clock. “What’re you doing here… S-the middle of the night…” 

“I-It’s the middle of the day,” Morty said nervously. 

Rick looked at him like he was crazy. He reached for his other arm and scratched. 

“Who’re you?” Rick asked again. 

“I’m Morty from-”

“Morty?” Rick breathed, and his heart monitor began to beep faster. “There’s spiders, Morty! Spiders!” The Rick tried to shift himself backward, but was too weak to move. He struggled, his monitor beeping frantically. 

“H-Hey, there are no spiders, Rick,” Morty said, leaning forward and grabbing him. Rick struggled and Morty grabbed his face, trying to get him to make eye contact. “Rick.” 

Rick looked at him. “Y-Y-Y-Y-You’re not my Morty. Nobody’s like my Morty.”

Morty saw blood on his lip, and he couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t take any of it. He didn’t want answers anymore, he just wanted it to stop. He held the struggling Rick still and leaned forward, kissing him on the mouth. He pulled back and looked sternly at Rick. “W-Would any other Morty do that?”

Rick stared at him wide-eyed. He fell back into the bed, muscles going lax. “My Morty?” Morty climbed into the bed with him, laying sideways with their foreheads touching. Rick’s heart monitor slowed to a less frantic pace. He took Rick’s hand and held it, and Rick said, “You can’t be my Morty. M-M-My Morty is dead.” 

“Well, y-y-y-you look pretty dead yourself,” Morty said.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, you look- y-you look like shit, Rick.”

“Okay I got it.”

“You look like you’re- look like you’ve got one foot in the grave.”

Rick grinned, chest rising and falling unsteadily. “Morty…”

“Yeah Rick?”

“I wish… I wish I woulda done things differently. I woulda been less of a Rick. Should’ve treated you better.”

“You were- you treated me great, Rick.”

“As always, you’re…” He took a shallow breath, “only twenty percent accurate.”

Morty shifted in the bed. “If you could go back- could have done one thing differently, w-what would you do?”

Rick looked up, thinking. “Would’ve used my coupon for Rebenna’s.”

“Never heard of it,” Morty said. “Is t-the food any good?”

Rick closed his eyes, looking exhausted. “Don’t know, Morty. I d-didn’t go.” Rick took another breath and sighed contently.

“R-Rick?” 

Rick didn’t respond, but his monitor steadily beeped on. Morty watched him for a moment longer. He was good and asleep, and didn’t stir as Morty peeled away from him. He took his crutch and carefully slipped out of the room. 

TBC

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to thank the awesome folks who took the time to offer such supportive feedback! It really helps me improve my writing and it fuels the fire to carry on! It's also been so fun chatting with you guys and getting to know you!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick shout-out to FemmeFatales (AO3), who is an amazing writer and RP partner! RickMortSlurp (tumblr), TY for beta-reading and helping me through some difficult things irl! The-Clairvoyant-Rick (AO3/Tumblr), thank you for your amazingly encouraging feedback, and for being way too nice to me! IdiotGarbage (Tumblr) for the super QT fanart of my college-aged Morty!!! If you want to see, I reblogged it on my tumblr, ShadyStation.

Morty returned to c137 empty handed, but he was far from ready to quit.

But before continuing to search for Rick, he had something else to take care of. His first course of action was to raid his parents’ bedroom until he found his father’s gun, predictably tucked away in a shoebox in the top shelf of the closet. There was no lock, and it was loaded. Christ on a cracker.

Morty limped into the backyard with a shovel, the same shovel he’d buried himself with. The air had a cold bite to it, and he pulled his coat closer. In the back of the yard, far away from the graves, Morty began to dig. The ground was nearly frozen, so he had to use all of his strength to make any progress at all. With a hole quite a bit more shallow than he’d planned, he set the gun inside and buried it. When spring came, he would unearth it and dig a deeper hole, but for now this would have to do.

He knew that Jerry might notice its absence and buy another. He also knew that his parents might never find out about he and Rick anyway. But it was still a small comfort to have it gone.

Morty drank a hot coffee to ward off the chill. He grabbed his crutch and opened a portal. Soon enough he entered the world where the Rick and Morty were both alive, and _together_. The house looked identical to his, the Thanksgiving decorations put away and the Christmas lights strung up but not lit. The air had the same chill in it.

He went in the front door of the house, where their Jerry sat at the table popping balloons on his tablet. He looked up and blinked.

“Uhh, how... didn’t I just see you go into the garage?”

“I-I-I don’t know, Dad, maybe?” Morty said.

“And what’s with the crutch all of a sudden?”

“I’m j-just… playing. I’m playing with it.”

Jerry nodded like that made sense, and went back to his balloon game.

Morty went into the garage, where he startled both Rick and Morty right out of their seats. Both of them pulled laser guns on him, and he raised both hands, his crutch falling and clattering against the floor.

“I-I-I-It’s just me!” Morty squeaked. “...f-from c137! I was here last week.”

“S-So you’re just-URP barging in whenever you feel like it now?” Rick growled.

But the other Morty lowered his gun, beaming. “Hey! I didn’t expect- didn’t think we’d see you again.” He glanced down at Morty’s crutch and said, “Y-Y-You should come sit.” Morty didn’t object, and accepted the rolling chair that the other Morty offered.

The other Rick was scowling as he tucked his gun under his lab coat. “To what do we-BLUURP owe the pleasure?”

“Uh, w-well it’s about my Rick…”

The other Morty sat on the table, swinging one of his legs. “Yeah, how’s that going for you?”

Morty blushed, but he was glad to be able to talk to someone about this. God knew there weren’t many people whom he could tell. “I-It was good for a while, actually.”

“Wow, really?” the other Morty exclaimed. Even the other Rick made an impressed face.

“I mean, he was into me and things were amazing, but then he disappeared.”

“Sounds like a R-Rick thing to do,” the other Morty said.

“D-Did you do that?” Morty asked the other Rick. “Disappear for a while?”

“No. Is that why y-y-y-y-y-you’re here? You want our help?”

Morty looked off to the side. “Yeah. I mean, I already tried the other dimension, the one where Rick has liver disease and-”

“Yeah I know,” the other Rick cut in, “Your-URP your Rick told me all about that shit back when he showed up here. You can spare us the details.”

“W-What if the details are important to finding my Rick? We know that you, my Rick and sick Rick all have something f-f-fundamental in common.”

“They all _like_ their Morty,” the other Morty finished.

The other Rick rolled his eyes. “So ffffucking what? That’s a serious- that’s a real stretch. What’s that conclusion going to do for you?”

“It’s going to make the details important,” Morty said with confidence. “N-N-Not that I want to talk about what I saw, but I think I should. Rick, if I told you everything that happened, do you think you could… I don’t know, point out if anything sounded important?”

Rick turned, walking to the shelf and sorting his tools. “I don’t see why-URP why we should help you anyway.”

“Aw jeez, come on, Rick!” The other Morty protested. “I want to help. We don’t exactly have allies showing up at our door every day. I think we have to stick together. S-S-Stick up for each other.” The other Morty hopped off the table and pulled his chair up to face Morty. “T-Tell us what happened.” The other Rick remained near the tools, but Morty had a feeling he was listening.

“Well, he was seeing s-spiders. And then…” Morty relayed the story, and the other Rick and Morty listened without interrupting. “I asked him what he would do differently, but he didn’t give me a serious answer.”

“What did he say?” the other Morty asked.

“H-He just said he wished he’d visited some restaurant. I think it was called Rebecca’s.”

Rick’s reaction was immediate, and intense. “Psh,” he laughed. “That’s bullshit. He didn’t say that.” The Mortys both looked over at him. His face was red and he looked uncomfortable.

“Maybe it wasn’t Rebecca’s,” Morty said, “But it sounded like that. Maybe Rebenny’s… Rebenna’s…”

The other Rick looked extremely uncomfortable. He was clearly thinking hard before opening the garage door. “A-Alright, field trip time. Get in the ship. Oh, Morty, I-I-I-I-I’ve got an extra laser gun in my-BURP room, in the dresser, third drawer down. Go get it, would you?”

“Sure,” the other Morty said, going back into the garage and disappearing into the house.

In the meantime, Morty climbed into the ship, pulling his crutch with him.

“Don’t bother getting in the back seat,” the other Rick said, shutting the doors.

Morty’s brows drew together. “Uh.. what about your Morty?”

“H-He’s not coming with us.”

“He’s not?”

The other Rick revved the engine and the ship lifted off. Morty looked down at the house as it grew small, where the other Morty was probably still looking for the laser gun. Morty had a feeling there wasn’t one to find.

“W-Why are we leaving without him?” Morty asked.

“ _Reasons_. S-See, I’m willing to help you because my Morty, for once, might be right about us needing allies. But that doesn’t mean I need him uncovering embarrassing shit that other Ricks are doing, especially if he thinks we’re-BURRRGH similar.”

Morty thought about how different the dynamics were between this Rick and Morty and himself and his own Rick. This Morty was trained to fight and prepared for the worst, and at the same time, he was more sheltered than any Morty he’d ever met.

“I thought all Ricks would be shameless.”

“Yeah, well… surprise, surprise.”

“So what’s the s-story about this restaurant?”

“Firstly, stop calling Rebenna’s a fucking restaurant, Morty. Secondly, ask me when we’re almost there. I-I-I-I-I-I don’t want to have to answer your endless stream of moronic questions for the next-BURP three hours.”

“Three hours?!”

“Three hours. And a portal jump back to your dimension.”

Morty was sure that he’d be able to coerce this Rick into small talking, maybe finding out more about his relationship with the other Morty, but his plans were cut off when Rick put the ship on auto-pilot, reclined his seat and fell asleep.

Three hours felt like twelve in the darkness of space. He couldn’t sleep, not now when he might be close to finding Rick. But what was he going to find? What could a Rick be ashamed of? Was it some sleazy business that the bottom-of-the-barrel Ricks would slink off to in order to escape? Was it some place where Rick could lay around getting high undisturbed?

No, Morty had seen Rick snorting drugs before, right in front of his friends and grandkids, unashamed. And he’d seen Rick get involved in all sorts of bizarre sexual escapades in the past. At least, Rick hadn’t performed them in front of Morty, but close enough.

No, it had to be something else. What would Rick be ashamed of? Talking about his feelings. Morty burst out laughing at the thought, because it was so true. The Rick beside him jumped awake, looking around frantically.

“Buhhh, whasshappening? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Morty assured him. “I-I was wondering though, is Rebenna a-a-a therapist?”

“Psh, no,” Rick said, settling back into his seat. “Guess again, retard.”

Morty shoved his shoulder. “Hey, don’t go back to sleep. I-I-It’s been like five hours already. Tell me w-where we’re going.”

Rick checked his watch. “It’s been-URP two hours and fifty minutes. Hmm…”

“S-So that means it’s a great time to tell me, right?”

This Rick’s face shifted into the same uncomfortable expression that he’d had in the garage when Morty first mentioned Rebenna’s. He pulled his flask out of his coat and drank deeply. Spittle hung from his mouth, but he didn’t bother to wipe it. He looked hollow as he stared out the front windshield.

“We’re already there. S-S-See for yourself.”

Far in the distance was a space station built onto a small patch of jagged stone, floating in space like an island at sea. The building was tall, with only a few small windows. It reminded Morty of Doctor Frankenstein’s laboratory on the hill, but with a scifi twist. Single-passenger ships flew in slow circles, orbiting the facility.

“Is Rebenna’s a… a prison?”

“Christ, w-w-w-why the fuck would a dying Rick want to go to prison? Why would anyone have a _coupon_ for prison? Read the fucking sign.”

Morty squinted, and saw bold letters carved in an arch over the entrance. “R-R-Rebenna’s Rehabilitation Center - Founded in 1970...” Morty looked at the other Rick, who kept his eyes ahead. “Rehab? Like…”

“Like trying to get clean, yeah. I-I-It’s fucking-BURRRP stupid, Morty. You give them your money and they don’t let you leave until you’re as clean as a pair of tits at a carwash. Shit is intense in there, Morty. Electroshock treatment, extended periods of isolation, group therapy,  it’s no spa.”

Morty gaped. “Y-Y-Y-You’re saying my Rick might have… he could be trying to get…”

“Sober, yeah.”

“H-How did you know about this place?”

The other Rick looked tired and embarrassed. “M-Most Ricks probably know. Rebenna’s… it sits in the back of your mind, Morty. You’ve gotta ask yourself, how bad will I let things get before I go? I bet that most of us don’t make it there, like the dying Rick who brought it up. It’s real easy to just say you should’ve gone in hindsight.”

Morty studied the building, his heart weightless in his chest. Rick was trying to get clean? Could that be true?

“Don’t get your hopes up,” the other Rick said, as if on queue. “Don’t forget, we’re only here because some dying Rick mentioned it and you have no other leads. Your Rick could be somewhere else entirely. He could be living it up in a brothel full of abandoned Mortys somewhere.”

“Don’t say that,” Morty said angrily. ‘A-A-Anyway, we’re assuming that you guys have something in common. If you’ve thought about going to Rehab, even if you haven’t done it, that means that maybe my Rick has thought about it too. Would you visit a…. a _brothel_ of Mortys?”

Thankfully the other Rick made a genuine face of disgust. “Ugh, alright I get your point.”

“Let’s go in. Let’s see if he’s there.”

“First of all, he wouldn’t be there, he’d be at the Rebenna’s in c137. Hence the aforementioned portal jump.”

“Well then let’s go there.”

“Yeah yeah, I’m-BURRRP working on it.”

Rick opened a portal ahead of them, larger than the ones that he could make just a few years ago. They flew through it, engulfed in bright green light. On the other side, they were immediately hit with a blinding blast of fire. The ship was thrown backward into a jarring spin.

“HOLY SHIT!” Morty shrieked, thrown back against his seat.

The other Rick swore as he tried to counteract the spinning. The ship shuddered and slowed, and was immediately hit with a smaller blast. Rick put the ship in reverse, out of the line of fire.

“W-W-W-W-What’s going on?!”

At this distance, they could see that they weren’t being targeted. Instead, Rebenna’s Rehab was just… spewing fire. It still stood, but inside the atmosphere shield, tall flames were rising up out of the building. Another small explosion blasted out of a window and took down the corner. The surrounding ships had also been destroyed, their disrupted orbits sending them crashing into one another. It was complete and utter chaos.

“Well this is c137,” the other Rick muttered. “M-My guess is that your Rick isn’t taking to rehab very well.”

All of the warmth and pride that Morty had been feeling for Rick a moment ago was gone. He gritted his teeth, furious. “I-I have to get in there.”

The other Rick laughed. “Uh, it’s on fire, kiddo. I’m pretty sure there’s nobody waiting to greet you at the guest sign-in desk.”

“Rick, _j-j-j-j-just get me in there_!” Morty bellowed. He shoved the other Rick and slapped him for good measure. “GO! Get. Me. In. There. NOW!”

“Jesus f-fucking Christ, you little shit, fine! But I’m not going to f-forget that! I-”

“Just shut up and go!”

The other Rick sped forward, dodging debris and spinning space crafts.

Morty’s eyes widened as he spotted figures on the flat rooftop. “There he is! On the roof!” The other Rick changed course for the roof, where Rick was fighting off a crowd of white-coated men and women. Fists were flying, but Rick was surrounded. The other Rick released a hail of laser gunfire, forcing the white-coats to leap out of the way or get torched, and they fled the roof to seek shelter below.

The ship crash-landed and screeched across the roof past Rick, stopping with a bump against the edge. Rick’s chest was heaving, his hair and skin covered in grime and blood. Sweat drenched the front of his tattered hospital gown. He stood on the defensive, his bare feet spread and his hands balled into fists. Morty leapt out of the ship and ran for him.

‘Rick!”

Rick’s mouth fell open, fists going slack. “M-Morty?”

Morty didn’t need to ask him if he was the Rick from c137. He just knew. He ran to him, soaking in the sight of him, his Rick, standing there more shocked to see Morty than he’d ever been before.

Morty closed the distance between them and punched Rick in the face, so hard that he fell to the ground. “That’s for leaving me, y-y-y-y-y-y-y-you asshole!” Morty howled. Rick started to sit up, holding his face. Morty leapt onto him and punched him again, knocking him back down. “And that’s for fucking me right before you left!”

“Jesus Christ, Morty,” Rick groaned, blood leaking from his nose. Morty swung again but Rick caught his wrist. “S-Stop! Chill out! I was just... trying to clean up! Get my shit together!”

Morty pulled free and waved his arms around, gesturing toward the fire and destruction. “How is THIS getting it together?!”

“I said I was _trying_! I-I-I-I can’t be sober, Morty! This is fucking hell! I-I-I had to get out! I had to break out, Morty!”

Morty’s eyes welled up as he sat there, shaking his head. “You’re so good at running away, Rick. You did it to Mom. I-I-I should have expected you to do it to me.” Morty’s vision was blurry as he whispered,  “I’m not special.” He shut his eyes as angry tears spilled down his face. He was eighteen but he felt like a child again, helpless and attached to someone who couldn’t be trusted.

“Morty…” Rick breathed.

Through the tears Morty looked at Rick, and didn’t recognize him. Never had he seen Rick look at him... look at _anything_ this way. He was broken and raw, emotionally gutted and bleeding out. “Morty,” he said again, reaching for him. Morty allowed it, allowed Rick to wrap his arms around him.

“I’m sorry Morty,” Rick said in almost a whisper. “I’m s-s-s-s-so fucking sorry.” Morty didn’t see it, but he felt Rick trembling against him, felt his unsteady breaths against his neck. “I fuck things up, Morty. And then I-I-I get something good, I get someone like you in my life, and I waste it to punish myself for when I fucked up. I’m stuck in a loop. I heard your mom in the kitchen, and sh-she’s right about me, Morty. I’m defined by this sickness.”

Morty pulled back so he could look at Rick. Rick looked so ashamed, and it killed Morty to see it. “Rick, I never asked you to get sober. I-I-I never asked for any of this.”

“I wanted to do it for you, but I couldn’t.”

Morty sighed. Rick looked pitiful. He took Rick’s hand and laced their fingers together. Their hands were clammy from the heat and the flames in the distance, but it didn’t matter.

“I love you, Rick. A-And I mean _you_ , not some better version of you that I’ve made up, who’s sober and polite. If you want to get clean, sober up, t-that’s great! That’s something I would support. But if you can’t, that’s okay too. Because I’ll love you anyway… for a hundred years. For longer.”

Morty pointed to the ship, where the other Rick was reclined in his seat, looking off into the distance.

“See that other Rick? He may have waited years for his Morty, b-but he doesn’t know him the way that you know me. You always take me with you on your screwed up adventures b-b-because you trust that I can handle it. You know that I’m strong. S-S-So don’t change that now. If you’re going to do something, don’t leave me out. _Never_ leave me out. Okay?”

Rick’s brow was knitted together. “Okay, Morty.”

“Now come on, Rick. Let’s go home.”

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter of 'Get Real', but it won't be the end of Rick and Morty for me. Please read my notes at the end of the story!

Back on Earth, Morty sat alone in the ship, parked out front of a store. The street lamps did little to penetrate the starless black above. The liquor store, however, was brightly lit from the inside, a beacon of fluorescent light. Morty sat and waited and watched. Rick was still wearing his dirty hospital gown with his bare butt showing in the back. He shuffled around the store grabbing bottles off the shelves. Morty watched him reach the counter and pay.

Getting here had not been eventful. They’d found Rick’s ship where he’d left it in a parking garage floating near Rebenna’s. No longer needed, the other Rick had unceremoniously left them before Morty could even say, ‘thank you’. Still, Morty didn’t think it would be the last time they met.

Morty blinked as the door opened and Rick climbed back into the driver’s seat, setting the paper bag on the floor between them.

“F-F-Fuck it’s cold outside,” Rick grumbled, rubbing his bare knees.

“Why don’t you put on my jacket?” Morty offered.

“I’m fine. Got something else to keep me warm.”

For a split second Morty thought Rick might be referring to _him_. But Rick reached for the paper bag and pulled out a bottle of vodka. Morty fidgeted with the radio as Rick opened a bottle and drank. He set it down and sighed with exhaustion.

With the radio tuned, Morty had no other way to look busy. He glanced at Rick, who was leaning back with his eyes closed. A pale purple bruise was forming under his eye, where Morty had hit him, and another on his jaw from the second blow. Morty opened his mouth to speak, to find something else to talk about, but Rick beat him to the punch.

“How’s y-y-your foot, Morty?”

“Uh…” Morty looked down at it, surprised. “It’s pretty good. Doesn’t really hurt anymore. I-I-I kinda forgot my crutches in the other Rick’s ship though...”

“S-fine, you should be-URP you should be healed by now.”

Morty nodded, but there wasn’t much point with Rick having his eyes closed.

xxxx

It was nearly four in the morning when Rick flew the ship into the garage. They climbed out, Rick quite a bit more tipsy than he had been a few hours ago. He stumbled and recovered, dragging himself to a cabinet and pulling out some clothes.

“Rick, w-what are you doing?”

“Gonna… Gotta get dressed, Morty. So tired of this-BURRP this bare-ass hospital dress.”

“Y-You don’t want to shower first? You’re kind of-”

Rick glared at him. “Y-Yeah and wake up your parents? M-M-Maybe you’re keen on meeting the Spanish Inquisition, Morty, m-maybe you want to be questioned by Good Cop and Retarded Cop… but I’m n-not ready to deal with that shit tonight.”

“Okay sure,” Morty said. “I’ll just…”

“Leave me alone, Morty, I got… I had a babysitter-nurse breathing down my neck for weeks, I don’t need you to do it now.”

Morty’s brows drew together. “Fine, whatever.”

With that he went inside the house, and jumped when he found his mother sitting upright on the couch. Her hair was frazzled and there were dark circles under her eyes. She stood up quickly and went to Morty, giving him a tight hug.

Beth said, “Oh Morty I’ve been so worried about you! JERRY, he’s back!” His father woke with a start, where he’d been laying on the couch. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Morty looked back at his mother, who was _mad_. “First your grandfather vanishes, and then you disappeared? Where on God’s Earth have you been?”

“Uhh, it’s kind of complicated.”

“Well I expect a better answer than that. Your father and I have been up all night worried sick about you! AND you’re supposed to be grounded!”

“He’s-BURRP been with me,” Rick said from behind. Morty turned to find Rick leaning against the wall, arms crossed and dressed in his typical garb.

Beth gasped sharply, tears filling her eyes. “Dad… Dad, oh my God!”

She hugged him next. Morty saw him wince over her shoulder, and knew that under the fresh shirt and lab coat, he was still covered in cuts and bruises.

“Dad you look awful! Where have you been? I was so worried, I didn’t know… I wasn’t sure if you’d come back!”

“Got held up by some rebel Gromflomites. I… I tried to escape but it was a total shit show. And Morty… good old Morty… he… he rescued me, Beth. Morty went in there and he rescued me!”

Beth pulled back, looking at Morty. By now Jerry had joined them, but he didn’t look nearly as impressed.

“Is that really what happened?” Jerry said, brow quirked.

“Y-Yeah,” Morty said, scratching the back of his neck. “I-I just went over there and… and I took care of it.”

“Oh Morty,” Beth said, sniffling. She pulled him and Rick into a hug, and they glanced at one another over her shoulder. “I’m so glad to have you boys back!”

“Yeah, so good to be back,” Rick said, peeling himself out of her grip and backing away. “I-I’m just going to take a shower, s-since you’re already up and all.”

“I think that works out,” Jerry said, looking no less displeased. “Because I need to have a talk with my son about a certain _thing_ missing from my closet.”

Morty paled. “Uh, wh-wh-what are you talking about, Dad?”

“You know what I’m talking about. Where is the gun, Morty?”

Having had just about enough of being treated like a child, Morty frowned as he said, “You know what, Dad? I hid it. I-I-I-I hid it from you and I’m not going to bring it back.”

Jerry was furious. “Morty, you have no business handling a gun!”

Rick, who had paused half way up the stairs, glared fiercely as he cut in. “ _You_ have no business handling a gun, _Jerry_! Y-Y-You know why Morty hid it? Huh?! Because you killed him with that gun in another dimension. I-I-I don’t blame Morty one bit for hiding that shit from you!”

“What?!” Beth squeaked. Jerry’s eyes were wide. Rick stalked up the stairs, and Morty’s parents turned to him instead.

“I… I would never do that!” Jerry said, voice going high with offence. “I would never shoot my own son! Morty, you know I wouldn’t!”

“I-It wasn’t like that, Dad,” Morty said quickly. “It was a-an accident. It was just… just an accident.”

Jerry spoke slowly. “You’re saying some other Jerry accidentally killed his Morty with the handgun he had in his closet?”

Morty nodded and looked off to the side. “Look, i-if you really want it I’ll get it back-”

“No, that’s okay,” Jerry said quickly. “I don’t think I want it anymore.”

Beth looked back and forth between them, arms crossed as if to ward off the cold. Morty sighed, exhausted. He kissed her on the cheek as he went to the stairs. “G-Goodnight Mom and Dad.”

xxxx

Not long after, Morty was lying in bed, unable to sleep despite how exhausted he was. It was early morning, and a bird or two had already begun to sing. He’d heard Rick in the shower, heard it run and then get shut off. He listened to him padding down the hall and heard the bedroom door close. Moments later his phone buzzed and he picked it up, surprised to see a message from Rick.

‘ _you awake?_ ’

Morty typed, ‘ _maybe.._ ’

‘ _come over_ ’

Morty smiled. ‘ _i thought u were tired of ppl breathing down ur neck_ ’

It took a moment for Rick to answer. ‘ _changed my mind.. come breathe down my neck_ ’

Face growing warm, Morty set aside his phone and slipped out of bed, wearing his t-shirt and pajama bottoms. He crept into the dark, chilly hall. And as quietly as he could, he opened Rick’s door and shut it behind him. He knew enough to turn the lock. The room was dark, penetrated only by the faded light between the curtains. It was enough to make out the shape of Rick in bed… in his cot of a bed… laying on his back with his arms folded behind his head.

Morty came over and slid under the blanket. Rick turned to face him and Morty tentatively reached out, finding soft material of a long-sleeve shirt. Morty recognized the shirt from the feel of it, an old, white henley that Rick only wore when he was especially cold. Morty had always liked this shirt. He liked way the buttons would come undone on their own through the course of the day.

He ran his hand along the shirt and then to Rick’s flannel pajama bottoms, and then up beneath the shirt. Rick’s skin was still damp from the shower.

“Mm,” Rick murmured sleepily, “y-your hands are warm.”

Morty took it as an invitation and pressed closer, sliding his hand up Rick’s spine. He smelled like soap. And when Morty pressed his forehead to Rick’s, he could smell his toothpaste and an undertone of vodka.

“I-I still can’t believe I’m allowed to touch you like this,” Morty said.

“Y-You’re not allowed, Morty,” Rick corrected. “Th-Th-This is definitely not allowed, not according to-BURP most of this planet.”

Morty ignored him. He was feeling bold. He leaned on his elbow and bent over Rick, kissing his neck. Rick murmured something pleased and unintelligible, and wrapped his arms around Morty.

“What’d you say?” Morty asked.

Rick spoke against his hair. “I s-said I want you to come in my ass.”

Morty’s face flushed hotly. “I-I-I-I-I-I don’t think th-that’s what you said.”

Rick chuckled. The light in the room was just enough for Morty to see him smirking. Christ, that sultry look in his eye had Morty getting hard so fast.

“W-What,” Rick said, “y-you don’t want to?”

“Of course, I-I… ugh.” Morty huffed.

Rick turned onto his back and Morty settled over him, hand drifting down the firm planes of his chest and stomach. Rick was getting hard under his pajamas, and Morty palmed him to help him along. Rick rocked up against his touch until Morty tugged off his pants. Rick peeled off his shirt and they undressed.

“There’s a bottle under the bed, in the-BURRP duffle bag,” Rick said. Morty reached down and found it easily. He started applying the lube to his fingers when Rick stopped him, chuckling. “Y-Y-You don’t need to do that, Morty. Remember what I said about the mega seeds?”

Morty thought about it, and yes, even four years later he remembered. “Yeah b-but I just wanna.”

Rick, surprisingly, had nothing to say to that. He raised up one of his knees, a gesture that Morty found exceptionally sexy, and Morty pressed against his hole. Two fingers slid in easily, and three was a little tighter. It was clear that Rick either hadn’t stuck a mega seed up his ass in a long time, or he’d been exaggerating. Probably both.

“What’re you smiling about?” Rick mumbled.

Morty shrugged as he pressed his fingers deeper. He couldn’t believe he was doing this… getting away with this. It was like fondling a venomous snake. Rick finally rolled his eyes and Morty knew he was pushing it, taking too long. He removed his fingers, shifted and pressed himself inside of him.

Rick was hot and slick around Morty’s length. It was good, it was so good, and even better was Rick’s face. His lips were parted, head lifted as if he were trying to see where they connected. Morty rocked forward, burying himself all the way. He pulled out and thrust in again, watching as Rick’s eyes fell shut.

A thought drifted into Morty’s mind, something that had him slowing down.

“Wh-what’re you… what’s wrong, Morty?” Rick managed to say.

“Nothing Rick, I-I just… y-y-you’re not bored, are you?”

They’d completely stopped moving by now. Rick stared up at him with a tilted brow. “Hell are you talking about, Morty?”

Morty looked sheepish. “I dunno, y-you’ve just done this a lot more than I have. I mean, if missionary is a little basic for you, I understand. I-I could try something else if you wanted.”

Rick looked zero percent impressed, giving Morty a deadpanned glare. “I’m sixty-four years old, Morty. I-I-I just escaped a maximum security rehab and I haven’t slept in seventy-two hours. If y-y-y-y-y-you think I’d rather be doing-UURP some kind of bondage-gymnastics right now, you’re wrong.” Rick looked up at the ceiling as he continued to rant. “A-And I was just thinking, ‘shit, this is good. Morty feels so good in me. And he’s totally chill. He’s not… h-h-he’s not freaking out or making it weird like I expected’-”

“ _Okay okay_ , I get it,” Morty cut in, face scarlet. “Jeez, sorry. I was just thinking about you. J-J-Just thinking about making sure you were having a good time-”

“Ugh Morty, just shut up,” Rick said, body tightening around Morty’s cock. With a wave of pleasure, Morty finally registered the impatient, needy look on Rick’s face, and knew he had to Shut. The. Fuck. Up.

After an awkward moment, he kissed Rick. He pumped into him sharply and Rick whimpered into his mouth. Oh fuck, that was hot. Morty stopped holding back and stopped overthinking, and just let go. Rick’s eyes were shut again, head leaning back.

“Yeah baby,” Rick groaned, arm hooking over Morty’s neck.

Blushing, Morty asked, “Y-You like it?”

Rick couldn’t even respond with sarcasm. He just nodded.

Morty grabbed Rick’s thigh, pushing his knee up higher for a better angle like he’d seen in the pornos. Rick let out a worryingly loud noise and covered his mouth.

“S-good?”

Rick nodded even more vigorously, biting his lip. “M-close, Morty, I n-need…”

It wasn’t hard to figure out what he needed. Morty reached between them and wrapped his hand around Rick’s leaking cock. Rick seemed to melt under him as he stroked. He worked him fast, and moments later Rick was digging his nails into Morty’s back, cum spurting onto his stomach.

The feeling of pumping into Rick’s spasming body, combined with that incomparable look on his face was too much for Morty.

“S-Shit I’m gonna-”

“Y-Y-Yeah, come in me, Morty...”

That sent Morty clean over the edge. He froze, emptying inside of Rick.

After a few heavy breaths Morty opened his eyes, and found Rick watching him. His face seemed expressionless, or maybe he was just tired. Morty didn’t think he’d ever know exactly what was going on in that mind. Rick propped an arm behind his head, the other sliding up and down Morty’s chest. Morty leaned down and kissed him. Rick returned the kiss, but quickly broke it off and pulled him down into a hug. Morty was breathless, because somehow the embrace felt more intimate than even a kiss. It said so many things that Morty knew Rick would never be able to voice out loud.

They separated, and Rick pulled the blanket over them from where it had fallen.

“When did i-i-i-i-it get so-BURP fucking cold?” Rick grumbled.

“While you were in rehab.”

Morty blinked, a thought coming to him. “Hey, what’s the date?” He reached for Rick’s phone, which was on the floor beside the bed. He checked the date and smiled. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Happy Christmas Eve, Rick.”

“Y-Y-You shitting me?”

Morty grinned. “I-It’s the twenty-fourth.”

Rick let out an exhausted breath. “I didn’t get anybody anything.”

“I-I don’t think that matters.”

“Yeah it f-f-f-fucking matters. So here’s the plan, Morty. We’re gonna sleep. W-We’re gonna sleep a long time. Let’s say twelve hours. Then we’re gonna go gift shopping.”

Morty grinned, because it sounded like such a normal, fun thing to do. “At the mall?”

Rick laughed. “ _Hell no_. We’re gonna get some real good shit for everyone, Morty! We’re gonna get stuff you can’t just get on some basic bitch planet like Earth. No, it’s going to be great, Morty, we’re going to give the best gifts and blow everyone else o-o-o-out of the fucking water. Nobody’s gonna find better gifts than us, Morty, not for a hundred years, Morty.”

Morty was tired just thinking about it. “Ookay Rick.”

Rick grinned at him sleepily, curling up closer.

Morty pulled the blanket all the way over them.

xxxx

The fountain trickled as it always had. Morty sat back in his chair, more comfortably than he had before.

“How was your winter break, Morty?” asked the balding therapist.

“I-It was pretty great.”

The therapist’s head tilted. “That’s good to hear. You know I was worried with the way things ended in our last session.”

Morty looked at him apologetically. “S-Sorry. I just… had to go.”

“If you feel comfortable talking about it, I’m curious how things are between you and your grandfather.”

Morty didn’t blush, because he had known this was coming. “I-I-I think it’s the same as it used to be, but better. Yeah… I mean, being crazy about someone and then… and not being being able to tell them, it’s the worst. I feel like… like this weight is off my chest now. A-And Rick, he’s doing really well. I noticed that he was kind of different. Still himself, but I don’t know, more steady? Sleeping better? I asked him what it was, and he… well he really didn’t want to tell me at first. But he did. He told me… he told me he’s cut down on his drinking a lot. I mean, not all of it, but a lot. I’m so proud of him.”

The therapist didn’t seem to know what to say. And who would, when such an unorthodox situation _wasn’t_ turning everyone’s lives into a hailstorm of shit? The therapist wrote something on his clipboard and set it aside. “Well I’m glad things are going well for you, Morty. You do look happy.”

Morty smiled, because it was true.

FIN

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may post a short epilogue or two as future chapters to this fic, so keep an eye out! Also check back for new RickMorty stories. Feel free to follow my Tumblr blog, ShadyStation, for any updates to my fics!  
> Thank you all again and I hope you enjoyed 'Get Real!'
> 
> *UPDATE* I have a new Evil Morty / Doofus Rick fic stated on AO3. I hope you check it out and let me know what you think!


End file.
